Operation: Frostbite
by cgtrial
Summary: (Military AU) Elsa Winters, and up-and-coming member of Special Forces, embarks on her first mission to rescue a young girl from the clutches of a terrorist organization. Disclaimer: I do not own Frozen or its characters, Disney does. Rated T for violence and some language.
1. Follow-Through

"Send it."

Elsa slowly let the breath she had been holding escape her lungs. She brought her finger down to rest gently on the trigger, just had she done hundreds of times before. The moment her lungs were empty of air, Elsa waited until she could feel her heartbeat. A split second after she felt the beat, Elsa slowly pulled the trigger straight back.

She barely even heard the gunshot. Years of practice caused Elsa fight back the instinct to flinch as the rifle kicked back into her shoulder. It was the perfect follow-through. Elsa's breathing pattern and posture remained completely unchanged, ensuring and accurate shot.

"Hit, one inch left of center." Her spotter, Olaf, informed her of what she could already see through her scope. The bullet had cleanly ripped through the paper target 700 yards away, just missing the bull's eye. Olaf was a shorter man with dark brown hair in his late twenties. Despite his relatively short stature, he was still an accomplished team member and a highly skilled sniper.

"The wind's picked up a bit down-range," Elsa whispered under her breath.

"I heard that, Elsa." She look over to the man lying prone next to her. He had already removed his protective earmuffs and was looking Elsa straight in her eyes. "One thing you need to remember is that perfection is rarely achievable. Even the best laid plans will fail at some point, so don't be hard on yourself. You were off by one inch at 700 yards. I don't care who you ask; that's impressive. You have talent, and that's why you're here now."

He was right, and Elsa knew it. A voice in the back of her head, however, continued to protest. She had something to prove to everyone who said that she couldn't do it. Females weren't generally allowed to even try out for Special Forces, let alone pass the grueling training course. Elsa had to fight bureaucracy and red tape every step of the way just to get started. She was almost positive the drill instructors pushed her harder than her male counterparts, yet she still passed. Not only did she pass, but she graduated in the top fifteen percent of her class. Despite that, she still felt the need to push herself harder and further than anyone else to prove to everyone that they had not made a mistake letting her in.

Elsa was also at the young end of the age spectrum. At only twenty-one years old, Elsa was the youngest member of their squad. Her deceptively slender frame hid the powerhouse that was Elsa Winters. Apart from her physical strength, she had an innate skill with firearms. She was top of her class when it came to marksmanship. During her childhood in Norway, Elsa had begun hunting deer at the age of six, rarely missing her target. After her family moved to America and became American citizens during her early teen years, Elsa continued to practice and hone her ability. To pay for college, Elsa enlisted in the Navy as soon she turned eighteen. It wasn't long before she fell in love with military life. The structure and rigid rules offered Elsa a perfect environment for her structured mind to flourish.

It wasn't long before Elsa wanted to do more. That was when she decided to push for a position in the elite Navy SEALs, much to the distain of her parents, who hated the thought of their only daughter in the thick of the fighting. But Elsa had always been stubborn. Stubborn and driven. It was almost harder to convince the commanding officers of the SEAL teams to let her try than to actually pass the training course. More than a year later, here she was, a full-fledged member of SEAL Team Seven, practicing with the other marksman in her new squad. Much to Elsa's delight, she was actually better than the two-year SEAL veteran.

"OK, twenty bucks says I can get closer," Olaf suddenly broke Elsa's concentration. During her week training with Olaf, the pair had started making playful bets on who could shoot better.

"You're on, Snowman," Elsa grinned as she turned her attention back to the scope on her rifle. Olaf settled into his rifle as he began his standard engagement sequence he prepared before each shot. Elsa helped in her spotting roll by calling out distance and apparent wind speeds at the target. "Ready?" Elsa asked after Olaf made the proper adjustments to his scope.

"Yep," was his whispered response.

"Send it."

Less than a second later, Elsa felt the shockwave and heard the report as Olaf's rifle sent another bullet downrange.

"Hit, one-and-a-half inches right of center. Pay up." Elsa held out her hand to man next to her to accept his payment. Olaf began to reach into his pocket to dig out his wallet.

"Ya know, I really need to stop making bets with you. I'll be broke before the week's out," he said as he pulled a twenty dollar bill from his pocket.

"Yeah, you will," Elsa replied as she took the money from his hand. By now, it was almost time for the evening meal, so the two snipers quickly cleaned their rifles before walking the nearly quarter mile path from the gun range on base to the mess hall. Elsa was still nervous around the other SEALs and to be honest, she was a little bit intimidated by men who were already veterans of dozens of missions. Elsa just ate with the other members of her squad.

The squad leader was Lieutenant Flynn Fitzherbert. Apparently his real name was Eugene, but went by the nickname "Flynn" due to his apparent likeness to Errol Flynn. He seemed to Elsa to be self-absorbed, but it was almost justified. The dark haired, dark eyed twenty-eight-year-old Flynn had been a successful team member for the past three years, eventually earning a position as squad leader.

The second-in-command was a younger redhead by the name of Chief Hans Fontana. He was closest to Elsa in age, but still was her elder by three years. Elsa hadn't spent much time talking to him yet. A veteran of four combat deployments, Hans acted as the squad's communications specialist.

The second newest member of the team was twenty-five-year-old Kristoff Bjorgman. The blonde man had a kind face, but Elsa knew he could fight if he needed to. She had gone face-to-face with him once earlier during the week. The fight was over in less than thirty seconds despite Elsa's fighting prowess. His large, linebacker-type frame certainly didn't hinder his nimble movements. The pair had become fast friends due to the fact both he and Elsa were originally from Norway.

Olaf "Snowman" Kross was the team's original marksman. Elsa heard a rumor that he had successfully made a shot from over a mile, but Olaf refused to confirm or deny that story, but instead decided to keep everyone guessing. Olaf's nickname, Snowman, originated ironically from Olaf's hatred for winter months and his love for summer.

Elsa herself already had an unofficial nickname as well. Due to the fact that she rarely spoke to people outside of her unit, members of other squads had started calling her "Ice Queen". The members of Elsa's own squad had taken to just calling her "Ice".

Elsa ate in silence as her squad mates talked amongst themselves.

Her new life was about to begin.

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**Author's Note:** Please review and let me know what you think of this premise!


	2. Frostbite

**Author's Note:** So this chapter is practically all exposition. Don't worry, it'll get into the more action side of the story soon. Please review and let me know what you think of it.

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Of all the words Elsa could use to describe a life of a SEAL, "boring" certainly wasn't one she ever expected to use, but no other word described her current predicament. Her first week spent on active duty had seen her squad held in reserve, waiting for a call that never came. The inactivity made Elsa secretly furious. She hadn't sacrificed so much of her life just to watch TV on a military base. Granted, she did train on the range with Olaf every day and the team had run through live-fire room-cleaning drills, but they hadn't done anything really important.

Elsa sat in the rec room on base with the rest of the squad. The old couch had seen better days, evidenced by the numerous patches that covered the surface. The old TV that couldn't go ten minutes before static appeared hadn't fared much better. The Navy had other things to pour their money into than this tiny little room.

While Elsa, Hans, and Kristoff sat on the couch, Olaf and Flynn sat behind them on metal folding chairs. No one spoke, but instead kept their focus on the football game relayed on the screen. Elsa never really cared for organized sports as a kid, but the competition still interested her enough to watch.

Once the game ended, Elsa decided that she would spend the rest of the evening reading in her room. As she stood, she noticed that Lieutenant Flynn was busy scribbling on a piece of paper. It wasn't unusual. In the two weeks she'd known the man, he always seemed to be writing letters to his wife back home. He was the only member of the team who was married. In fact, he was the only member of the team who was in any sort of relationship.

Elsa was only feet from the door when another sailor burst through from the other side. He was out of breath.

"They want you over in the command building. Now," the man breathed out quickly. The members of Elsa's squad shared excited glances with each other at the news. They were actually going to do something. The squad rushed from the rec room as fast as their feet could carry them. Five minutes later, they walked into the command building and were pointed towards the conference room.

Elsa walked into the dark room first and was greeted by the light of a single projector. It projected a simple PowerPoint slide with the words "Operation: Frostbite" in a simple font on the screen at the far side of the room. Elsa noticed that one of the Senior Chiefs of the team standing to the right of right of the screen.

Elsa and the rest of squad walked into the conference room and each took a seat near the front. Once they were all settled, the Senior Chief began to speak.

"Ok, first of all, I want to thank you all for getting here on such short notice, but this just got handed down from the higher-ups." He gestured to the PowerPoint slide next to him. "Operation: Frostbite," he repeated before clicking to the next slide. Elsa was surprised by the picture on the next slide. She expected some sort of military target, but instead it was the picture of a girl, maybe in her late teens or early twenties. The girl had light red hair in two braids with a single strand of white hair in the right braid. The words underneath the photo read "Anna Arendelle 'Eagle 01'."

"This is Miss Anna Arendelle. Her father is the CEO of Arendelle Industries if you're familiar with it. Anyway, Miss Arendelle here decided to wait a year before going to college and instead volunteered to do aid work in the Southern Isles," the Senior continued. "As you know, if you've been keeping up with current events, that area is very unstable right now. You have this guy…" he clicked to the next slide, "…to thank for that." Elsa studied the photograph of an older man surrounded by armed guards. "He calls himself 'The Duke'. He's been the head of a minor drug and weapons smuggling ring for about five years, but in the past months they've stepped up their game, and three days ago they stepped it up to kidnapping. The convoy that Miss Arendelle was riding in was ambushed, resulting in the death of one nurse and Miss Arendelle's abduction. Yesterday, we received this tape."

He clicked to the next slide which played a grainy video clip. The clip clearly showed that Anna was alive, but Elsa could tell that she wasn't in the best condition. She was tied to a chair flanked by armed men while a third listed off their demands in broken English. The terms of their conditions were simple: ten million dollars in one week or the girl died. When Anna spoke, she assured the viewer that she was being treated fairly, but Elsa didn't buy it. Something in the way her voice nearly broke when she spoke made Elsa think the redhead was being forced to lie.

Once the clip ended, the Senior clicked to the next slide which showed a satellite image of a remote compound. "Thanks to the boys over at the CIA, we traced where the tape originated. This compound is located on the northern-most island in the Southern Isles, Weselton Island." The Senior turned his full attention to the squad assembled in front of him. "This mission is a personnel recovery of Miss Arendelle. I apologize for the short notice but we have to act quickly. Be at the airfield at 2100 tonight. You will be inserted via HALO drop about seven miles off target. You are to wait and observe the target and get a positive ID on Miss Arendelle before you hit the target tomorrow night. If all goes good you be in and out before the even realize that she's gone."

"What's our extract?" Flynn broke in.

"When you transmit the success code 'Thawed' a helo from one of our destroyers off the coast will pick you up," the Senior answered. "If you get into a jam, transmit 'Frozen Heart' and every available strike aircraft in the area will be called in to give you a hand."

"Do we have any recent intel on numbers on the ground and what type of weapons they might have?" Kristoff inquired.

"Uh, satellite imaging estimates the number of smugglers anywhere from thirty to fifty strong, with many conducting patrols outside of the compound. As for what weapons they have… They definitely have some AKs, but these guys smuggle drugs and guns for a living, so they could have anything from heavy machine guns to light artillery. We just don't know. Any other questions?" The squad sat silently for several seconds. "Ok then, get your gear together and be at the airfield by 2100. Good luck."

Elsa couldn't contain her excitement as she stood to leave the room. After all her training and sacrifice, she would finally be making a difference.


	3. HALO

Elsa snapped awake as Kristoff nudged her arm. She quickly sat upright on the bench that ran along the side of cabin and began to stretch out her sore muscles, which was easier said than done considering the HALO jump gear strapped to her body. The parachute on her back, harness, oxygen tank, and combat pack attached to her chest made any range of mobility nearly impossible.

"We're ten minutes out from the drop," Kristoff said loudly into her ear to be heard clearly over the roar of the plane's turboprop engines outside. Elsa replied with a silent thumbs up. She began to look around cargo compartment of the aircraft she and her squad was riding in. Kristoff was sitting immediately to her left while Hans sat several feet to her right. Snowman sat across from the trio by himself.

Elsa looked towards the front of the aircraft and saw Flynn speaking with one of the members of the flight crew. The slightly worried expression on his face caused Elsa to become slightly worried as well. After several seconds, Flynn shook hands with airman and walked, though it was more of a waddle in his jump gear, back to Elsa and the squad and tapped the radio headset he was wearing. Elsa grabbed the headset that was on the cabin wall behind her and placed it on her head. The rest of the squad did the same.

"Ok, listen up everybody! Just got word that some asshole leaked that video of Miss Anna to the press," he said through the radio. "By sunrise, that girl's gonna be on the front page of every paper in the country. There's gonna be a lot of pressure to get her back, pressure on us. The President just authorized any force necessary to get her back." Flynn looked around at the squad. "Ok, that's my time on the soap box, now let's get to work."

Elsa removed the radio headset and pulled her jump helmet over her head. The oxygen mask attached to the helmet dangled loosely next to her head. For some reason, the simple act of gearing up suddenly made the whole situation feel too real. Elsa had never been more nervous in her life.

"_Let it go…_" she began to hum under her breath. "_Let it go… Can't hold it back anymore…_"

"Hey, Ice, whatcha singing?" Hans' question broke into Elsa's thought.

"Huh? Oh, it's a song my mom used to sing to me anytime I got scared," she anwered.

"What? You scared now?" Hans asked with a slight laugh.

"No, just a little nervous. It still helps," Elsa covered, though she had to admit to herself that she was a little scared.

"Oh, this jump's nothing. My first combat jump was straight into the Atlantic Ocean. Took back a hijacked freighter. This'll be a walk in park compared to that," Hans continued with a smug look on his face.

Elsa herself was no stranger to jumps like this. She had participated in HALO, or High Altitude-Low Opening jumps before to qualify, but this was her first combat jump. Despite that, Elsa could not quite agree that the jump was "nothing." Glancing at the altimeter on her wrist, Elsa noted that they were 30,000 feet in the air, certainly living up to "high altitude" part of the name. No matter what, a jump from that height has its challenges. The air up here was too thin breath so each member of the team had to wear oxygen masks during the jump and was so cold that her eyes would freeze in seconds if she didn't wear goggles.

As Elsa went through her mental checklist on contingencies, a red light blinked on at the back of the cabin.

"One minute! Masks on, guys!" Flynn shouted over the roar of the engines. Elsa pulled the oxygen mask over her mouth and clicked it place. As she lower her goggles into place, the ramp at the back of the plan lowered. One of the flight crew signaled the squad to stand up. Elsa stood and walked to the back of the plane. The temperature had already dropped and the whistling wind was all Elsa could hear though her helmet. She and Olaf double-checked each other's parachutes and harnesses to make sure everything was set up properly. Once the checks were completed, Elsa and the rest of the squad walked to the very edge of the ramp. Elsa's toes were practically dangling off the edge.

"Five seconds." Elsa barely heard the five second call over the rushing wind. Five seconds later, the red light turned green and Elsa leaned forward into the black abyss of the night sky.

Elsa tumbled through the air several seconds before she finally maneuvered her body to correct her fall. She looked around her to see the other four members of her team. All of them fell with their arms and legs spread out to keep their top speed down. Even in the dark of the night, Elsa could make out the outline of Weselton Island below them, just as she remembered from the maps she had studied. As the next minute ticked by slowly as Elsa kept her eye on the altimeter on her wrist.

At the right altitude, Elsa waved her arms in warming and pulled the ripcord of her parachute. She waited several second as she felt the chute begin to deploy until she felt the jerk of parachute quickly decelerate to a safe speed. The rest of the team did the same. Elsa looked up to confirm that the chute was fully deployed.

As Elsa neared the ground, she guided her parachute toward the small clearing that had been designated as their landing zone. It was a perfect landing. Elsa began to reel in the billowing chute as the rest of her team dropped around her. Most of the other team members landed without incident, though Hans came in a little too fast and landed funny on his hip. He walked it off in less than a minute.

Elsa buried the chute and oxygen while making sure to leave no trace that she was ever here. Elsa unstrapped the combat pack from her chest and retrieved her disassembled rifle. After her Mk. 11 rifle was fully assembled, Elsa began to take in the environment, every sound and every smell. After several minutes of quite, Flynn gestured that it was time to move out. The squad began to slowly move toward the forest toward their target.


	4. On Target

The sun was beginning to peak over the horizon. As the sky turned from black to grey, Elsa could see the terrain around her in detail. The forests on the Island of Weselton were primarily composed of tall pine trees, whose low-hanging branches Elsa figured would provide excellent concealment for a perch at the base of the tree.

Flynn ordered a fifteen minute rest. The squad had walked through the night, and were now within a mile of their target. Even as she rested, Elsa kept her weapon on her shoulder, ready to fight if a patrol from the compound stumbled upon them. Elsa's weapon was a Mk.11 sniper rifle. While it lacked the range and power of standard bolt-action sniper rifles, her Mk.11 had the distinct advantage of being semi-automatic. One pull off the trigger; one bullet downrange, no need to reload in between. Plus, in the thick forest, Elsa wouldn't be making any long-distance shots. Olaf carried a similar rifle, though his scope had a higher magnification than Elsa's. The rest of the squad were all fitted with standard M4 rifles. Every weapon in their arsenal was suppressed for stealth and Kristoff had attached an M203 grenade launcher to his rifle.

Before the squad began to move again, Elsa reached into her pack and applied more black and green face paint to cover areas that had sweated off. In contrast with her dark face, her light blue eyes almost looked luminescent. Flynn motioned with his hands that it was time to move out. Elsa stood and began to walk the final stretch to the compound.

Twenty minutes later, the team reached the edge of the smuggler's base undetected. While the rest of squad held back, Elsa and Olaf crawled forward to the edge of the tree line and set up their rifles. Elsa looked down her scope and could clearly make out the compound from her hide.

The compound was fenced in and comprised of about eight spread-out buildings. Elsa had studied the satellite photography so she knew what every building was. The large building near the center served as the barracks. Several buildings toward the north appeared to be some sort of drug and weapon storage facility. Armed men walked between them. Elsa's focus, however, quickly shifted to the smallest building at the edge of the compound.

"See that?" Olaf whispered. "Small building on the right is the only one with a guard on it." Elsa locked her crosshairs on the guards head.

"Hans, get on the radio. Tell command that we are on station and are beginning reconnaissance," Elsa whispered into her radio. The earbud in her ear crackled to life.

"Copy that, Ice. Castle Main, this is Castle Actual, do you copy? We are on target. How copy, over?" The fact that Hans didn't ask again meant that Castle Main had responded in the affirmative. Elsa peered through her scope, hoping for some evidence that Anna was inside that hut. She watched as another armed man crossed the compound and entered the small building. The following scream made Elsa's heart jump. She clicked her weapon off safety and rested her finger on the trigger.

"LT, we got a problem," Olaf called over the radio. Lieutenant Flynn crawled forward to the snipers' position and produced a pair of binoculars. Before he could say anything, more commotion broke out in the camp. Elsa shifted her rifle as a small figure was forcefully pulled from the hut. The bag over the figure's face made any form of identification impossible, but everyone on the team had the same idea of who it was.

The figure was thrown to the ground several yards in front of the building the bag was ripped off of her head. Elsa quickly assessed the figure. The girl was the right height, appeared to be the right age, and had red hair, but the proof was the white streak in the right braid.

"Hans, confirm positive ID of the package," Flynn whispered through the radio. Hans acknowledged and relayed the information back to Castle Main. Elsa focused on the uproar in the compound. Anna stayed in the dirt, probably too afraid to move. One of the smugglers stood over her and drew a handgun from his belt. Elsa steadied her aim and rested her crosshairs on his temple, ready for the second that Flynn gave the order. The man pointed the firearm at Anna's head.

"Hold your fire." Elsa was surprised by Flynn's order, but kept her weapon locked on target. "If we shoot, she's dead for sure," he explained. Elsa held her breath as the seconds ticked by agonizingly slow.

The man pulled the trigger. No gunshot followed. Anna screamed while Elsa released the breath that she didn't realize that she was holding. The man began to laugh, joined by the other smugglers in the compound. Flynn lowered the binoculars.

"Son-of-a-bitch. Mock execution," Olaf muttered under his breath. The man grabbed the crying Anna and hauled her back into the hut. Another scream echoed through the forest.

"Sir, we gotta move now," the quiet Kristoff broke interjected over the radio. "It doesn't sound like she can take much more." Elsa heard another quite scream emanate from the camp.

"Negative, Kristoff. As much as it pains me to say this, we'll have a better chance of getting her out if we wait till nightfall. Besides, that's out orders." Elsa could hear the remorse in his voice as he spoke. Every member of the team wanted to strike now, but a daylight strike would be incredibly risky. Yet another scream. Elsa swore she heard a voice pleading for the men to stop, even at her distance. Her mind ran away with her, imagining what horrors the young girl might be experiencing. Flynn apparently had the same train of thought.

"Ah, goddamit. Hans, alert Castle Main that we're hitting the target early. Snowman, you'll hold your position and act as overwatch. Ice, you'll come with us, we need you on the strike team. Let's move out." With those words, Elsa and Flynn crawled back to Kristoff and Hans, leaving Olaf in his concealed position. Once Hans relayed to Castle Main that they were moving, Elsa, Kristoff, Hans, and Flynn began the slow walk around the edge of the compound.

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**Author's Note: **Please review and let me know what you think of the story so far!


	5. Recovery

**Author's Note:** Any words in italics are silent hand signals. Figured it would be easier to just read what the signals mean rather than try to explain what the signals are. Please review!

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Elsa barely breathed. Every footstep was carefully chosen to avoid a dry leaf or loose twig. After over a year of training, Elsa was finally doing the one thing she was good at. The group moved in a slow, crouched walk to avoid being seen by any of the guards in the compound. Kristoff acted as the point man, LT Flynn followed close behind. Hans and Elsa brought up the rear. Elsa's eyes darted back and forth, scanning their rear to make sure that no one was able to sneak up on the group.

After twenty minutes of slowly creeping around the perimeter of the camp, the team finally arrived at the section of the fence that was closest to the target. As they left the safety of the tree line to cover the short distance to the fence, Elsa suddenly felt her stomach tense up. This was bad. A strike in broad daylight was a bad idea. Her heart began to race.

To distract herself from her fears, she studied the hut they were going to attack. It was a small rectangle that appeared to be split into two rooms by a wall down the middle. The shoddy external construction gave away the internal layout. The room on the left had the door that led to the rest of the compound and a window looking toward the fence, while the second room only had a small barred window. Elsa assumed Anna was in the second room. Another light scream was heard.

_Wire Cutters._

Hans pulled a pair of wire cutters from his harness and moved to the fence and began quickly cutting through the chain links. The rest of the team watched the surrounding area, keeping an eye out for any sentries. After a minute, there was a hole in the fence large enough for a man to fit through. The SEALs filed through in single file, still apparently undetected.

"Hold guys, hold," Olaf interrupted the silence through the radio. "One tango inbound on your position." Someone was walking up to the hut. Elsa did a quick mental calculation. There was one guard standing next to the door of the building and at least one other person inside beating the crap out of Anna. Now a third party had entered the mix. "Ok, he just walked into the target building."

The assault team was now at the hut, but still needed to gain entry without being seen. Elsa heard the footsteps of the third person walk into the hut and open a door before walking into the second room. Elsa made the mental note that there was a door separating the two rooms and the first room was most likely empty.

_Kristoff, window._

Kristoff lowered his rifle and pulled out his suppressed P228 handgun before quietly slipping through the open window. The rest of the team quickly followed suit. Now they were inside, but were not in the clear yet.

"Snowman," Flynn whispered as quietly as possible. "The guard, take him." From inside the hut, Elsa couldn't hear Olaf's rifle. Even if she was outside, the suppressed Mk.11 would not be any louder than a snapping twig at this range. Elsa did, however, hear the thud as the guard's body fell to the ground. Hans opened the front door as Flynn simultaneously pulled the body inside, removing the evidence. Someone would notice the guard was gone, but they had bought themselves some time.

_Ice, doorway. _

Elsa lower her rifle and let it dangle loosely from the strap around her shoulder. She pulled her own suppressed pistol from its holster strapped to her left thigh while Flynn pulled his pistol as well. They walked up to the closed door that separated them from Anna. The two SEALs looked at each other, each giving the other a small nod. Elsa reached out with her right hand and pushed the door open.

The next two seconds felt like an eternity. Flynn rushed into the room first, Elsa was right on his tail. She quickly assessed the situation. Two men were in the room. One had an AK rifle in his hands while the other might have had a pistol, though Elsa wasn't sure. Anna was tied to a chair between them. Considering the screams Elsa had heard just minutes before, Anna was not in that bad of shape. She had large gash on her right cheek that was bleeding and several visible bruises and a black eye, but still seems conscious and alert.

Just as the team practiced during room-clearing drills, Flynn moved to the right side of the room and Elsa moved to the left, spreading them out. Elsa raised the handgun and took aim at the first man, the one who she had watched perform the mock execution. Her arms moved with the muscle memory built in from hours spent on the gun range. She lined up the man's head, noting his look of utter shock, with the sights of her pistol. By this time, Kristoff and Hans were also entering the room. Elsa slowly pulled the trigger back.

She fired twice before the man even hit the floor, and another time after he was on the ground to finish the job. Flynn took care of the other man in a similar fashion. The suppressors on their weapons mixed with the walls of building rendered the gunshots practically silent to anyone outside. Elsa suddenly realized that it was her first kill, but had other things to focus on now.

"Holy shit…" Anna's voice broke into the sudden silence. Flynn motioned for Hans and Kristoff to cover the door. Elsa moved toward Anna and started to untie the girl from her chair. Flynn leaned in close to her.

"Miss Arendelle, we're Americans, we're here to take you home," Flynn calmly assured the girl who looked at the two dead guys with mouth agape. "I just need to ask you a few questions first." Anna looked at Flynn with a curious expression. "What's your mother's maiden name?"

"Bell…" Anna replied, not understanding the purpose of the question.

"What street address were you born on?" Flynn continued.

"53 Fjord Avenue…" Anna replied as Elsa undid the last knot keeping Anna's leg tied to the chair.

"Snowman, radio headquarters. We have confirmation of the package. We'll wrap up here and move to extract. How copy?" Flynn called over the radio. Elsa helped Anna to her feet. The girl could stand, but was still shaky.

"Can you walk?" she whispered to Anna. The younger girl half-heartedly nodded.

"I… I think so, just a little sore," she replied.

"Well, not taking any chances," Elsa said more to herself than anyone else before picking Anna up and carrying her to the window. "Let's get out of here."


	6. Hushpuppy

_Hushpuppy (n.) – Slang term for a suppressed Mk. 22 pistol, coined during the Vietnam War when that weapon system was used by Navy SEALs to quietly silence enemy guard dogs._

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The squad quickly pulled back through the hole they had cut in the fence earlier. Within seconds they were back in the relative safety of the pine trees. They moved quickly to a position several hundred yards into the forest. Olaf radioed that he was moving to their position. Elsa set the newly-freed Anna on the ground and began to look at the cut on the girl's cheek.

"Damn, they cut you up pretty good," Elsa commented as she reached for the first aid kit in its pouch on her harness. Anna winced as Elsa applied antibiotic to her face.

"Yeah. Thanks, by the way," Anna replied in a shaky voice. Elsa placed a bandage on Anna's face.

"Don't thank us yet, Ms. Arendelle," Flynn interjected as he produced a map and compass from his pack. "We still have a couple miles to go before we reach the extract point. We need to get out of range of any patrols." A rustling sound to their left brought Elsa's weapon to her shoulder. As Olaf's face appeared in her crosshairs, she quickly lowered the rifle.

"There you guys are," he said.

"Hey, nice shot back there, Snowman," Kristoff chimed in without shifting his focus from the surrounding forest.

"My pleasure," Olaf replied with a slight bow of the head. "Now let's get the hell outta Dodge." Elsa stuffed the first aid kit back into her pack as the team began to move. Anna's footing was less shaky now, so the girl simply leaned on Elsa's shoulder for support. After several minutes, Elsa suddenly realized that Anna's gaze hadn't shifted from her for the last minute.

"What is it?" Elsa whispered.

"Nothing," Anna turned her attention to the front. "Just wouldn't expect one of my rescuers to be a woman. Didn't think they let women into Special Forces."

"I you try hard enough, they let you in," Elsa replied curtly, not wanting to drag on the conversation. They were still in enemy territory.

"I have one more question," Anna began.

"Stop talking," Kristoff interrupted.

"No, I just…" Anna started to defend herself.

"No, I mean it. Shut up," he repeated. Elsa heard it too. A low rumble of and approaching vehicle echoed through the forest. Elsa ungracefully pushed Anna to the ground before dropping to the dirt herself. The rest of the squad fell where they stood. Elsa looked through her scope, searching for the source of the noise.

"Got it. Technical inbound at three o'clock," Olaf called over the radio. Elsa shifted to the direction Olaf had specified and felt her heart drop. The technical, a type of improvised fighting vehicle, was an old beat up pickup truck with a .50 caliber machine gun mounted in the bed of the truck. At least five armed men rode in the back while two more men were in the cab. That's when she heard the barking.

"Shit, they gotta tracking dog," Elsa mumbled to herself. Once the dog started to bark, the truck stopped and nearly everyone jumped out of the bed. The man in the passenger seat opened the door and began to shout orders to his men. The dog, a large German Shepherd, began to pull his master towards the SEAL's position. One my stayed on the truck and pointed the heavy machine gun towards them. The patrol was just about 75 yards away and closing.

"Ice, get the dog. Snowman, get the gunner. Everyone execute on Ice," Flynn called over the radio. Elsa flipped her weapon off safety and began to control her breathing. Her finger slowly positioned itself on the trigger and slowly squeezed. The suppressed rifle cracked to life. Elsa saw the dog drop in her scope. Less than a second later, Olaf fired, dropping the machine gunner with a round to the head. While the patrol was still in confusion over where the shots were coming from, Hans, Kristoff, and Flynn opened fire, quickly eliminating the remaining members of the patrol. Elsa and Olaf then turned their attention to the driver and the commander. Two nearly simultaneous shots punched through the technical's windshield, ending the one-sided firefight mere seconds after it began.

As Flynn, Hans, and Kristoff stood and moved forward to investigate the truck, Elsa turned to Anna. The girl stared forward at the scene she had just witnessed.

"Hey, you ok?" Elsa asked with no response.

"Holy…" Anna's voice trailed off. Elsa nudged her shoulder to get her attention.

"I said, 'Are you ok?'" Elsa repeated.

"Yea… Yeah. Just… _that_ happened," Anna stuttered, obviously still in shock by the quickness of the SEAL's attack. Elsa sat up from her prone position and helped Anna to her feet. Before she could think of anything else to say, the radio earpiece in her ear crackled to life with Flynn's voice.

"Fall back! Fall back! Run!" Elsa glanced up to see the rest of her squad running back toward her position.

"What is it, LT?" she called over the radio. No response. "Flynn! What the hell is going on?" Still no answer. Elsa grabbed Anna's arm and dragged the young girl behind her as she began to run. Flynn finally responded as he caught up with the two girls.

"That son-of-a-bitch tripped a panic button wired into the truck! We probably have less than five minutes before we got fifty armed guys on our ass!" Elsa tried to pick up her speed, but the injured Anna slowed her down. Elsa quickly spun around and picked Anna before continuing to run toward the extract point.

Suddenly Elsa stopped short, a small, unexpected cliff at her feet. If they had had time, it would be easy to scale down the rocks. Elsa set Anna on her feet before turning around and raising her weapon to her shoulder, through the trees, she could already see movement and heard faint voices as the enemy approached.

"Well, crap."

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**Author's Note:** Please review and let me know what you think of the direction this story's going!


	7. Lost Comms

"Any bright ideas, Flynn?" Hans called. Elsa scanned the forest through her scope. With each pass it seemed that she could see even more figures in the woods moving toward them.

"Why are they still chasing us?" Anna whispered in Elsa's ear. Elsa glanced down the cliff behind them quickly before returning to her scope.

"You represent a $10 million payday for these guys, Miss Arendelle. Wouldn't you fight for that?" Elsa quietly replied. "Flynn! What's the call?" she asked louder. She glanced at her squad leader, who was looking down the cliff.

"Snowman, smoke! We're falling back!" he yelled.

"You mean falling off?" Kristoff asked in disbelief.

"You heard him," Olaf interjected as he pulled the smoke grenade from his harness, yanked the pin, and let the grenade drop at his feet. Seconds later, thick white smoke began to pour from the canister. Elsa heard Flynn take a deep breath before he let himself slide off the edge. Elsa grabbed Anna around the waist with one hand and gripped her rifle tightly in the other.

"Not gonna sugarcoat it, Miss Arendelle. This is gonna hurt," was her last words before Elsa pushed herself off the cliff. The fall itself was probably less than half a second, but it felt like an eternity. Elsa intentionally positioned her body between Anna and the ground, so Elsa's body cushioned Anna's fall, but the younger girl's body knocked the wind out of Elsa's lungs. The pair rolled down the rest of the steep him before coming to a stop at the bottom.

Elsa worked her way to her feet and noted a sharp pain in her side, probably a bruised rib. Anna landed several yards away after the impact knocked the girl from her grasp. Elsa quickly helped Anna to her feet and moved her so a tree was between the girl and the enemy at the top of the cliff. She suddenly realized that the strap that kept her rifle attached to her had snapped somewhere down the cliff and the rifle had also been pried from her hand. As she ran back to the cliff to search for her weapon, she heard several thuds as Olaf, Kristoff, and Hans hit the ground. Hans grunted is pain as he tried to stand.

"Dammit, my ankle," he muttered as he stood and limped to the cover of the trees. Olaf had a slight limp as well while Kristoff seemed to be ok. Elsa finally spotted her rifle at the base of the hill. She swiftly grabbed it before running back to the rest of her squad. Her side hurt terribly, but she did her best to suck it up and press on.

The SEALs grouped under the thick cover of trees about 100 yards from the base of the cliff. The enemy would have to take their time to scale it. Hans pulled the radio from his pack and it looked like it had survived the fall intact. He set up the small antenna and put the receiver to his ear. The worried expression that spread over the man's face told Elsa that something was wrong.

"What's wrong, Hans?" Flynn asked, "Do we still have comms with Castle Main?" Hans didn't reply for several seconds.

"Nothing, I got nothing," he muttered after a pause. "It's all just static, nothing but static!"

"Hans," Flynn interrupted, "Stop telling me what it's doing and just get it wor…" Flynn's statement was interrupted by the crack of a bullet flying with feet of their position. Other shots were fired blindly at their location. Elsa shoved Anna to the ground while she looked through the thick trees with her rifle. She could see that the smoke from Olaf's grenade had started to dissipate, revealing a huge aggressor force. Men were already scaling down the cliff face while the remaining force stayed at the top, firing blindly below in an effort to cover their comrade's descent.

"Flynn, do you want me to engage?" she asked. Flynn once again hesitated momentarily before answering in the affirmative. Elsa slowed her breathing before she depressed the trigger. There was so many men scaling the rock that she barely had to aim to hit her mark. Olaf began to return fire as well.

"Castle Main, this is Castle actual over! We have troops in contact! Frozen Heart! Frozen Heart! Requesting immediate QRF (Quick Reaction Force)!" Hans called over the dead radio, hoping that the message would get through. As he continued to repeat the transmission, the enemy fire became more accurate. Two rounds impacted the tree that Anna was hiding behind, while another bullet came within an inch of hitting Kristoff in the knee.

Suddenly a loud crack ended Hans' transmission. Elsa glance over her shoulder and that Hans appeared to be ok, but the receiver that was pressed against his ear was now just broken pieces in his hand. A bullet had shattered the radio receiver but had left Hans practically unscathed.

"You're one lucky son-of-a-bitch, Hans," Kristoff laughed before he began to fire his weapon at the cliff. Olaf turned to Flynn.

"LT, this is a bad spot. They have the high ground. We need to pull back." Flynn was about to reply when another bullet ripped through the group. Anna screamed as Hans fell backwards, blood already soaking through his uniform. He was dead before he hit the ground. Bullets continued to pour into the group as Kristoff, Elsa, and Olaf tried to return fire, but they were severely outgunned. Flynn moved to Hans' body and began to pull and sensitive material, like maps and codes, from his pockets. Another bullet struck the radio, removing any chance of a distress call.

"Fall back, we're pulling back!" he yelled. Elsa packed up her rifle and grabbed Anna from her hiding spot as the SEALs made a run for flatter ground. Anna had tears streaming down her face. She was traumatized by the sudden turn of events. The adrenaline rush of combat numbed the pain in Elsa's side, allowing her to move quickly through the forest. If they made it to the extract point, the helicopters sent to retrieve them could act as cover. Then they would have to come back for Hans' body; there was nothing they could do with it now.

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**Author's Note:** Just want to say thanks to everyone who has followed, favorited, and reviewed this story so far! You make writing worth it. Anyway, please review and let me know what you think of the story so far!


	8. Outgunned

"Come on, Miss Arendelle, get those legs working!" Elsa shouted as she pulled the younger girl behind her. Elsa would have picked her up, but her injured ribs prevented any heavy lifting. "Kristoff, pick her up!" As Kristoff slowed to pick Anna up, Elsa heard a sound behind them that stopped her in her tracks. She barely had time to push Anna back to the dirt beyond the Rocket Propelled Grenade flew by within feet of Kristoff's head and exploded into a tree ahead of them. No one was injured. Olaf did an about-face and began to lay suppressive fire in the direction the RPG had come.

"They're just getting closer, LT," Kristoff observed. "We can't outrun them! We have to turn and fight!"

"Then they'll kill her," Flynn responded, gesturing to Anna.

"They'll get to her faster if we don't have a defense prepared," Kristoff countered. "Sir, it's our only shot." Flynn made eye contact with each member of his squad. Elsa could see a hidden panic behind his eyes. He let out a heavy sigh.

"Ok, we form the line here. Eliminate as many of these guys as we can. Hopefully we can discourage any pursuit," he replied after a pause. "Ice, you keep her safe." Elsa grabbed Anna's arm before moving to a position behind a small rock outcropping as another blindly-fired RPG slammed into a tree overhead, showering the pair with splinters and small tree branches.

Elsa deployed the bipod on her rifle and propped the weapon on top of the outcropping. Through her scope, Elsa could see movement, but it was just fleeting glances before the figure would disappear behind trees again. As she waited for a target, Elsa did a mental check of what gear she had left. She had her suppressed Mk.11 rifle with five extra magazines, plus the one already in the weapon. Her suppressed P228 pistol had a total of three magazines available including the one that was loaded in the weapon. Attached to her combat harness were two fragmentation grenades and one smoke grenade. Her combat knife taped to the right shoulder of her harness.

Following two RPG explosions, the forest settled into an uneasy quiet. Elsa panned left and right with her weapon, still seeing no targets. Suddenly she saw a face peek out from behind a tree she calmed her breathing and heart rate.

"Flynn, got one," she whispered.

"Take it," Flynn whispered in reply.

Elsa felt Anna flinch as her weapon barked to life. She quickly confirmed that her shot had been accurate. Elsa heard some indistinct shouting, but couldn't tell exactly where it was coming from. Silent seconds ticked by.

Suddenly, the crack of several rifles firing simultaneously broke the silence. Elsa ducked behind her rock as several bullets impacted the other side. The air became filled with the buzzing sound of bullets flying around her. Elsa popped her head back over the rock and began to engage targets. There were too many aggressors to take her time, so most of her shots were wild and relatively un-aimed.

While the four remaining SEALs poured an impressive amount of gunfire into the enemy, Elsa could tell that their attackers were still closing. Elsa's first mag ran dry, so she ducked back down behind the rock as she grabbed another magazine from her harness. As she hastily moved back into firing position. As she looked in front of her, she was greeted by a particularly brash enemy fighter who had charged her position and was now within feet of her. Elsa was forced to drop her weapon in order to have both hands to defend herself. The second the fighter reached her, she jumped up and grabbed at his weapon before he could shoot. Her hand-to-hand combat instincts kicked in as she moved her arms into position to slam the man's head against the rock, stunning him. He stumbled back several feet, allowing Elsa to grab her rifle and fire.

During her little maneuver, however, Elsa accidentally moved too far out from her cover. Elsa suddenly felt like someone had hit her right shoulder with a sledgehammer, knocking her to the ground. The adrenaline in her system meant that she felt little pain, but she could already feel the warm liquid seep into her camouflage.

A feeble "I'm hit," was all she was able to muster. Seconds later, Olaf relayed a similar after a bullet ripped through his right arm. Elsa, however, did not have time to wallow in pain. She grabbed her rifle and returned to her firing position before continuing to return fire. She heard a tell-tale _thwomp_ sound as Kristoff fired a grenade from his M203 launcher into the approaching force. She heard and saw the explosion seconds later. In response, the enemy fired another RPG toward their location, exploding within feet of Flynn's position.

"Agh, I'm hit! I'm hit!" he called. "Just took some shrapnel to the shoulder," he clarified seconds later. Elsa's second magazine ran dry, prompting her to duck behind cover to reload. As she did, she looked Anna in the eyes. The girl was terrified. Elsa didn't blame her. If Elsa was honest with herself, she was scared beyond belief as well, and she was trained for this type of combat. Anna sat with her back on the rock, using her hands to shield her ears from the gunfire around her.

Elsa swapped magazines and returned to her firing position, less than a second later, another weapon joined the firefight. A loud, rapid machine gun opened fire on their position, forcing Elsa to return to cover as quickly as possible. Considering how long the weapon fired in a single burst, Elsa surmised that it was some type of belt-fed machine gun, meaning that it could fire hundreds of rounds without the need to reload. The SEALs were vastly outnumbered and now vastly outgunned.

After less than a minute of nearly continuous fire from the machine gun, Elsa hear Kristoff report that he had been hit in the right leg. Elsa shot up from her hiding spot just long enough to fire two or three rounds before the machine gun forced her back into hiding. The opposition force was close and closing fast. Every member of team was wounded in some way.

"We're screwed."

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**Author's Note:** Please review and let me know what you think of the story so far!


	9. FUBAR

_FUBAR (adj.) – Fucked Up Beyond All Recognition_

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Elsa continued to fire when she was able. The SEALs had settled into a deadly game of Whack-a-Mole with the enemy machine gun. As soon as one SEAL would pop their head up to take a shot, the machine gun would shift to pin them down, allowing other SEALs to pop up and take shots. Elsa time Elsa peeked out from behind cover, however, it seemed that enemy forces were just a little bit closer than before.

"Flynn, we can't stay here!" Elsa shouted. "We need to move! Now!" Her third magazine clicked empty.

"Ice is right, LT!" Olaf added as he quickly tried to wrap his wounded arm between firing his weapon. "We need to fall back!"

_Thwomp._

Kristoff lobbed another grenade toward the enemy. The rapid report of the machine gun died away immediately following the explosion.

"Ok, Ice, you cover Miss Arendelle. We'll cover you!" Flynn yelled. "Move! Move! Move!" Elsa moved to a crouching position as she continued to fire nearly as fast as she could pull the trigger. As the other SEALs poured fire into the enemy, Elsa pulled Anna to her feet and gave her a slight push to the rear.

"Run, Miss Arendelle! Run!" she commanded before beginning to run after her, placing herself between Anna and the incoming fire. Bullets struck the ground all around her, kicking up dirt and dead leaves all around her. Before either girl could get up to a full running speed, Elsa heard the all-too-familiar sound of an RPG launch. Nearly a second later, Elsa felt the concussive blast of the RPG detonation. It was close. In fact, it was _too_ close. Both girls were thrown to the ground. Elsa immediately felt the searing, burning pain as red-hot shrapnel imbedded in her right thigh. Anna let out a small scream as she clutched her right arm. Elsa could see several small pieces of shrapnel sticking out.

"Man down! Man down!" Elsa was shaken from her initial shock as Flynn began to shout. Elsa looked to where the RPG had landed. Kristoff wasn't moving. Why wasn't he moving? They needed to get out of here! Then she noted the mangled rifle next to him. Wait, that wasn't Kristoff's rifle. His rifle didn't have that scope on it. It was Olaf's rifle.

"Oh, God, no…" was all she could say. Flynn grabbed her harness and pulled her to her feet. Gunfire continued to snap through the air around them.

"We can't do anything for them now, Ice. We have to move!" Elsa lifted Anna to her feet as trio began to run.

"Wait, we can't just leave them!" Anna protested.

"They're already dead, Miss Arendelle! Our only hope now is they sent the extract helo despite the fact we haven't called in and we can signal it," Flynn explained. The Navy destroyer that was floating off the coast knew that the SEAL team had successfully retrieved Anna and were moving to the extract point. After a period of no comms, the destroyer would send the helicopter out anyway to conduct search and rescue.

Elsa wasn't sure how long it had been since the last communication, but they would need to get to the extract point, a meadow that the helicopter could land in, and hope the helo didn't take too long. As the trio ran, it became evident to Elsa that they were putting distance between them and the pursuing force. They slowed there pace a bit. Elsa let out a silent "thank you" due to the pain emanating from her freshly-wounded leg. Anna's face was now smeared with dirt, blood, and tears. In a moment of pure instinct, Elsa put her arm around the redhead and gave her a light hug. She didn't know exactly why she did it, but the moment of kindness in the middle of a living hell lifted Elsa's spirits to a place slightly above rock bottom.

Elsa's semi-euphoria was suddenly shattered when three gunshots echoed through the forest in front of them. It was another small patrol, this one consisting of only four guys. Elsa shoved Anna to the ground and raised the rifle to her shoulder. Four shots later, the firefight was over. Elsa helped Anna to her feet and turned to check on Flynn. Her heart dropped below rock bottom when she saw her lieutenant lying on the ground with two gunshot wounds to the chest. He was still alive.

"Flynn? Flynn?! Eugene! Can you hear me?" Elsa called cradling the dying man in her arms.

"Ya know, this mission's totally FUBAR," he replied weakly through coughs.

"Yeah, I figured that out about half-an-hour ago," Elsa replied, attempting and failing to laugh.

"Ice," he said sternly, "I know this sounds cliché, but tell my wife that I love her more than anything else in the world, and…" he started to cough more. "I'm sorry," were his last words. Elsa sat silently for several seconds before she wiped the tears out of her eyes, rubbing most of her face paint off in the process. She reached over to Flynn's left hand and slowly removed the glove. She then slid his wedding ring from his finger. The enemy would just take it. Elsa made a silent promise to herself that she would personally give that ring back to his wife.

After she slide the ring into one of her pockets, Elsa slowly rose to her feet. Anna had already pushed herself into a sitting position and Elsa could tell the girl was on the edge of a breakdown. Elsa was probably teetering on that edge herself. She had a job to do now, though.

"Come on, Anna, we need to move," she said quietly. Anna didn't reply, but simply followed Elsa's lead. Elsa could hear footsteps and shouts echo through the pines behind them. They weren't out of the woods yet, literally or metaphorically.

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**Author's Note:** So yeah, that happened. Please let me know what you think of this by reviewing! I love hearing your thoughts.


	10. Separated

**Author's Note:** Any sentences written in italics are Elsa's thoughts. Please review!

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Elsa loved the forest as a kid. During her childhood in Norway, she spent most of her free time in the woodland behind her house. It's where she learned to hunt, shoot, and track. It's where she learned everything that equipped her to be a SEAL.

Right now, however, Elsa was harboring a deep-seated hatred for the woods. It limited her line-of-sight and seemed to distort the direction of any sound. Elsa folded her map and stuffed the compass back into their pouch.

"That way. Less than one klick… uh, I mean kilometer," Elsa's voice was slow and subdued as the adrenaline rush from the morning's combat began to wear off. Her arms and legs began to feel heavy, her rifle began to weigh her down. Pain began to seep from her shoulder and thigh. Anna was behaving just as sluggish as she cradled her injured arm.

The sound of twigs snapping not far behind them forced the two girls to find the energy to pick up speed. Elsa was tired, but she had been tired before. During her Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL (BUD/S) training, Elsa managed to survive the dreaded "Hell Week"; nearly six days of continuous physical conditioning. There were times Elsa felt like she was going to simply pass out from lack of sleep during that week, but somehow found the endurance to push on just one more hour. She was feeling those effects now, combined with the shock of her wounds and the crash after the adrenaline high.

_Just one more hour._

In one hour they would be at the extract point. The problem was that Elsa had no idea when the helicopter would arrive or if they were already too late. Every noise made the hair on the back of her neck stand on end. The success of the mission and the survival of an innocent young girl rested solely on Elsa's shoulders. Elsa would not… no, _could_ not screw this up. Not after the rest of her team had sacrificed themselves for this mission.

"Ice? It's Ice, isn't it?" Anna suddenly asked in a whisper.

"What?" Elsa shot back with a slightly annoyed tone in her voice.

"Seesh, I can see why they call you 'Ice'," Anna responded while she twiddled her thumbs. "Well, I know that this may seem kinda, uh… inappropriate, considering out current predicament, but how old are you?"

"Twenty-one. I'll turn twenty-two in a few months. Why do you care?" Elsa briskly replied.

"There we go with the 'Ice' thing again," Anna continued, "I was just wondering. It's hard to believe that you're only three years older than me, yet I'm just looking at college and you're…" Anna's voice trailed off. Elsa raised an eyebrow, anticipating the girl's next comment. "I don't know… you're actually doing something with your life."

"Weren't you doing humanitarian aid or something like that?" Elsa countered as she scanned the forest around them. "That's something."

"Yeah, but I only decided to go so my dad would stop harping on me about college," Anna replied. "It wasn't some selfless act from the bottom of my heart." As Anna spoke, they came to the clearing. Elsa motioned to Anna to shut up and heightened her senses, listening for any noise that was out of the ordinary. She didn't hear anything.

She did, however, eye a perfect hiding spot. A small shale outcropping, maybe three feet high rested just feet within the tree line. The shale created a slight overhang, providing cover for someone to crawl underneath. Elsa motioned for Anna to move toward the overhang. As Elsa started to move, she heard a twig snap behind her. Her rifle was at her shoulder in less than a second. She couldn't see anything through her scope, but she could hear the faint voices again.

_Ah, shit._

Elsa put her figure to her lips to order Anna to remain quiet and pushed the younger girl under the shale overhang. She quickly stuffed dried leaves around Anna to act as concealment. Elsa saw the look of utter confusion in Anna's eyes.

"They're almost on top of us," she whispered quickly as she drew her pistol. "Take this. Just in case they find you."

"What are you doing?" Anna pleaded as she gingerly took the handgun.

"Probably something really stupid, but it's the only chance you have," Elsa replied as she pulled the smoke grenade from her harness. "Ok, when the helicopter shows up, pull the pin on this and throw it into the field. Don't worry, it just produces smoke. The helicopter will land and take you to a navy ship that's off the coast."

"Where are you going?" Anna asked.

"I'm gonna do my best to lead these guys on a little wild goose chase," Elsa answered.

"Can't the helicopter pick you up too?" Anna had a despite tone in her voice.

"There's no telling where I'll be when the helo gets here and those rockets they shot at us can easily shoot a helicopter down," Elsa explained. "That's why I have to lead them away. Goodbye." Elsa stood to leave.

"Wait. Can you at least tell me your real name first?" Anna whispered.

"Petty Officer Third Class Elsa Irina Winters, at your service," Elsa replied with a slight bow before starting to walk away. She needed to move fast, not just to distract the enemy, but also before she could talk herself out of this suicide mission. With no knowledge of the helicopter's location or arrival time, Elsa alone would have no chance of holding off the enemy force.

_This is the only way she'll live._

Elsa moved back into the forest. Now she was looking for the enemy. She edged her bets that the opposition did not know exactly how many SEALs had hit their compound. Elsa had to act and fight as if she was a larger force.

Suddenly, she saw movement. She raised her rifle and steadied it against a tree. She was just about to pull the trigger when she noticed one thing wrong with plan. She lowered her weapon and unscrewed the suppressor from the end of the barrel. She wanted to make sure those bastards heard her coming.


	11. Alone

Elsa ran. Well, it was as close to a running motion as she could manage considering her injuries. The shrapnel in her right leg burned with every step. Her shoulder ached and most of her shirt was already stained crimson from the blood. Through the pain, however, her mouth was curled up in a pleased smile.

_It's working._

After taking a few shots from behind a tree, the pursing force had apparently changed direction and now followed Elsa's false lead. Every couple of minutes Elsa would quickly spin around and fire off a short, un-aimed burst of four to five rounds, enough to keep them interested, but not too many to conserve ammunition. She could hear bullets zip through the air around her as the enemy blindly returned fire.

The cat-and-mouse chase went on that way for at least a half hour. Elsa slowed to a stop, her ears strained. She swore that she had heard that noise. She closed her eyes and focused her hearing. There it was: that low, rhythmic thumping sound produced by the large rotor blades of a military helicopter. Seconds later, Elsa saw the unmistakable outline through the trees of a Navy HH-60 Seahawk Helicopter as it roared swiftly over her head.

The sudden appearance of a large military helicopter scattered most of the opposition force as they ducked away from the apparent attack. Elsa used their confusion to her advantage as she began to in a direction perpendicular to her original direction of travel. The helo continued on, moving toward the extract point. Anna would be safe. Elsa felt a rush of relief flood her body. The mission was done. She pulled the suppressor from her harness and reattached to the barrel of her weapon. Now it was all about survival.

After about ten minutes of running, it became clear that she wasn't being followed anymore. Well, she still knew that she was being chased, but the enemy had lost her trail. Elsa slowed her pace to a brisk walk. As the adrenaline began to leave her system again, the pain returned in full force. The wound in her shoulder was now becoming a serious issue. She had been hit more than an hour and a half ago, but had yet to take apply real first aid on any of her wounds. Elsa knew that if she lost too much blood, she might start to experience organ failure. She had already started to feel the weakness and fatigue.

Elsa found a semi-secluded gully and gently lowered herself to the bottom. Once there, she propped her weapon up against a rock and pulled the first aid kit from its pouch on harness. She unspooled the bandage and did her best to cover the hole in her shoulder without limiting her range of motion. It wasn't perfect, but at least blood loss wouldn't be her cause of death. There were at least twenty men roaming the forest looking to provide that. She decided to leave the shrapnel in her leg. Attempting to remove it would probably just cause unnecessary bleeding. She hastily wrapped her leg. A she slipped the medical kit back into her harness, her finger brushed against a piece of metal in the same pouch.

_Shit, I forgot about Flynn's wedding ring._

Elsa pulled the small ring and stared at it. It was a simple gold band, not even an engraved design on the outside. On the inside, however, Elsa noticed some kind writing. She pulled the ring closer to her face and spun it in her fingers.

"You are my dream," she read aloud. Guilt began fill her heart. She almost found it amusing how this small piece of metal carried so much meaning that she actually felt sad that Flynn's wife wound never see that ring again. Elsa wondered she was like; Flynn's wife. She wondered how Mrs. Fitzherbert would react to the news that her husband had been killed in action.

Elsa thought about her parents and how they would react to her death. She suddenly felt more alone than she ever had in her entire life when the realization that she really had no other friends outside of her SEAL team and her parents hit home. She had had no real friends in high school. She was one of the smart kids, so she hung out with the other smart kids, but she wouldn't consider any of them friends. A tear rolled down her cheek.

The sun had already started its downward path in the sky when Elsa grabbed her rifle and began to move. Elsa only made it several feet before a form to her left brought her rifle to shoulder. The target was already in her crosshairs before she even realized what was happening. The figure was a boy who couldn't be any older than sixteen holding an AK rifle, which was pointed in Elsa's direction. The two stared at each other, neither making a move.

Elsa didn't want to pull the trigger on a kid, but her decision was made for her when the boy began to shout to his comrades, wherever they were. She pulled the trigger twice before she began to run. As she ran, Elsa noticed that the bolt on her rifle was locked in the rearward position, indicating that it was out of ammunition. She pulled her last magazine from its pouch and loaded it into the weapon.

_20 rounds. That's all I have left._

She started to run. The enemy had to have been with earshot of that location, or the kid wouldn't have called. She only ran for about a minute when she heard voices and gunshots behind her. Bullets whizzed by her head. Elsa spun in place and fired at her attackers.

Not long after the pursuit began again, Elsa came across a river, maybe twenty yards wide. Her only option was to cross it, though it would leave her terribly exposed. The river may have been wide, but it did not appear to be any deeper than three feet at any one point. Elsa began to wade into the river. She only made it about halfway across before a bullet slammed into her left calf, knocking her to her knees.

Elsa spun around as fast as she could considering her freshly wounded leg and the fact that she was kneeling the middle of a river. She saw enemy forces massing on the bank in front of her. Elsa raised her weapon and continued to fire at the opposition. She was completely exposed in the middle of a river. Her last magazine ran dry, prompting her to drop the now useless hunk of metal into the river. She grabbed one of the two grenades attached to her harness, pulled the pin, and lobbed it to the shore. The resulting explosion sent smoke rising through the trees. The second grenade was released just as enemy fighters breached the tree line. Down to her last weapon, Elsa drew her knife from its sheath.

"Bring it!" Elsa yelled, struggling to her feet and taking a fighting stance. By this point, Elsa had practically resigned herself to death, but she was determined to take as many with her as possible. With her wounded leg, she was completely immobile, so she was surprised when she wasn't just shot on site.

Enemy fighters charged into the river after her. Elsa slashed at the first one, cutting him pretty bad, but there two more fighters after him, and three more after them. Elsa was pushed backward into the river as more soldiers piled on top of her. The rushing water rapidly started to fill her lungs. Her flailing arms were quickly pinned down and the knife was knocked away. As consciousness began to leave her, Elsa was forcible pulled from water, her lungs screaming for oxygen.

The fighters dragged the weak Elsa by her arms through the forest. She vainly tried to break free, but the day's combat had finally caught up with her. Her mind still wanted to fight, but her body just couldn't go on anymore. She was pulled to a waiting truck and unceremoniously tossed into the bed. After her hands were bound, the truck began to move. Following a short and bumpy ride through the forest, the truck drove through the gates of the smuggler compound. Elsa was thrown from the truck and landed face down in the dirt. Sounds of applause and laughter met her ears.

"You are lucky to be alive, American," and voice spoke in nearly perfect English. Elsa looked up to a familiar sight. The Duke looked the same as the CIA photo she had seen during the briefing, same cheesy military uniform and all.

"The only reason you are still alive now, Miss," he continued, "is that I wanted to look into the eyes of a monster before you died."

"Then look into a mirror, douchebag," Elsa spat back. The Duke chuckled in response.

"Defiance will get you nowhere in life, monster," he cooed. "Now, do you have any last words?" Elsa pushed herself to her knees and stared the Duke directly in the eye. She said nothing, but slowly rose the middle finger on each hand. The Duke just chuckled again and motioned to another fighter to step forward. Elsa noted the machete in his hand.

* * *

**Author's Note:** Ok, due to my school schedule, it might be awhile before I can write again. I apologize because I realize that this is a cliffhanger ending, but I promise that I will continue this when I get the chance. Please review and let me know your thoughts on this chapter!


	12. Angels

The man with the machete continued to approach. Elsa was pushed to her hands and knees by a fighter behind her. She felt the cold steel rest against the back of her neck and closed her eyes, waiting for the swing.

"Wait!" the Duke suddenly called, causing the executioner backed up several steps. "This is a far too light punishment," he spoke as he approached. "Don't you think?" In a flash of movement, the Duke produced a pistol from his coat and cracked it across Elsa's head. Elsa fell sideways into the dirt. Pain once again flooded her body as her vision drifted between grey and black. Her hearing had devolved into nothing more than a loud ringing. She tried to collect a cohesive thought, but thought itself escaped her grasp. Tears began to stream down her face.

"Oh, how the mighty have fallen, monster," the Duke laughed. He leaned in close. "I'm not done with you yet. He stood before firing the handgun into her right kneecap. She couldn't hold back the scream as even more pain overwhelmed her brain.

The Duke was about to fire again when the air became engulfed by the sound of helicopters and the wind produced from the rotors. Elsa glanced up just in time to see two Navy AH-1 Viper attack helicopters scream overhead. The fighters in the compound began to scatter in all directions, while some managed to point their weapons skyward and fire. The attack helicopters came around again and strafed the compound with their guns, staying clear of Elsa's location.

A Navy Seahawk soared over the compound, coming to a skidding midair stop almost directly over Elsa. The rotor wash kicked up dirt and grass all around her, but her body was too broken to move. She heard the thud as heavy ropes thrown from the helicopter made contact with earth and watched as soldiers slid down those ropes to her location. The assault team established a perimeter around Elsa as they fought back the remaining resistance.

Elsa was beginning to lose consciousness. Her hearing was practically gone and her vision blinked in and out of existence. The soldier who tried to confirm her identity had to ask her three different times before she understood.

"Are you Petty Officer Third Class Elsa Winters?" he yelled over the sound of the hovering helicopter. Elsa was only able to manage a feeble nod in response.

"Ok, we got her," another assaulter yelled into his radio. "Send it down." Elsa watched as a basket was slowed lowered from the waiting Seahawk. Elsa was gently lifted into it as it began its ascent. Her eyelids started to become heavy and she tried her best to keep them open, but the last thing she remembered was the cold metal floor of the helicopter and the voice of one flight crew.

"You're going home."

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

_Beep… Beep… Beep… Beep…_

Elsa's eyes drifted open to the soft, rhythmic beeping of a heart rate monitor. Every limb was far too sore to move. With no small effort, Elsa managed to move her head and survey her environment. She was in a medium sized hospital room with white walls and tile floors. A large window dominated the left wall. From her position in the bed, Elsa couldn't see much out of the window besides a bright blue sky and the tops of several trees.

There was a TV mounted near the ceiling on the opposite wall from her bed. It was tuned to a news channel, but the volume was so low that she couldn't make out anything being said. Two news anchors were conversing with each other while the words _NAVY SEAL RESCUE_ scrolled along the bottom. Elsa glanced at the nightstand next to her bed and saw the TV remote. She reached out with her left and grabbed the remote with sore fingers and clicked the volume up.

"…it's really just an unbelievable story," one anchor was saying to the other. "Now we still don't have much information about the ill-fated mission carried out by U.S. Special Forces two days ago, but the freed American hostage, Anna Arendelle, has just landed at the airport where she will be reunited with her family. We go there now live."

Elsa watched as the screen changed to a shot of an airport runway as a jet taxied to a stop in front of a large group of cameras and reporters. Waiting at the bottom of the ladder to the plane was a single man.

_It must be her father_.

The door opened and Anna's face appeared in the doorway as she stepped from the plane on to the steps. It was far different from the last time Elsa saw it. Anna's face was clean, no longer smeared by blood and dirt. Her right arm was held in place by a sling. She smiled and waved to the crowd as they started to applaud. After she swiftly moved to the bottom of the steps and hugged the man. Elsa could see tears in both of their eyes. Anna pulled a small sheet of paper from her pocket and moved to a small podium flanked by microphones.

"First of all, I would to thank you all coming out today," she began. "Second of all, I need extend my deepest condolences to the families of those who gave their lives to protect me." Anna began to choke up. "To those who participated in the rescue, you are my guardian angels." She held up the paper, showing the three sentences written down. "Uh… that's all got. Only wrote this five minutes ago. Uh, thank you." Anna left the podium to the sound of light applause. She hugged her father again as the pair walked to waiting cars.

Elsa hit the power button on the remote just as a nurse entered her room to find her awake. The nurse excitedly left the room and returned seconds later with the Senior Chief, the same one who had briefed the team, in tow. He smiled.

"Ah, nice to see that you're awake, Miss Winters. How are you feeling?" he asked in a polite voice.

"Permission to speak freely, sir?" she replied as she tried to push herself to a sitting position, but to no avail.

"Granted, Petty Officer," Senior answered.

"I feel like someone ran over my damn leg with a tank and took a fucking sledgehammer to my skull." Senior chuckled at her assessment. "I do have one question, though. How did you find me?"

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**Author's Note:** Ok, so I was able to write one more chapter. It still ends in a sort-of cliffhanger, but it's not a big as the last one. Don't expect another update 'till at least the weekend. Please review and thanks for reading!


	13. Lack of Sleep and Stress

**TWO DAYS EARLIER**

Anna tucked herself deeper under the shale outcropping as she watched Elsa's form disappear into the woods. Minutes later, gunfire began to echo through the forest once again. Anna flinched at every gunshot until they faded out of earshot after about ten minutes. The throbbing in her wounded arm slowly began to subside as an uneasy silence settled over her spot.

_Well, this will be quite a story to tell._

That was if she got out of it. She was huddled under a rock outcropping, covered by dry leaves and sticks, clutching a handgun and a smoke grenade like her life depended on it. In fact, her life did depend on them. Now alone with her thoughts, her thoughts began to run away with her. Her mind told her that the helicopter would never come, that she would never leave this island, that she would die here. To distract herself from her current predicament, she repeated the soldier's name over and over in her head.

_Elsa Winters. Elsa Winters. Elsa Winters._

She would never, as long as she lived, forget that name. The name of someone who was most likely dead right now. The name of someone who risked her life to rescue her. Anna felt a wave of guilt rush over her. Four people, possibly five, were dead because of her. Was her life really worth that? Did she, of all people, deserve to live when those brave, heroic soldiers who fought for their country died? She made a silent pact with herself to make sure her life was worth their sacrifice.

Anna's mental turmoil was cut short by the loud roar of a helicopter. Anna scrambled to clear the leaves blocking her in as she rushed to stand from her position. Afraid to move her injured right arm, Anna gripped the smoke grenade in her left hand and pulled the pin with her teeth. As she threw the canister into the clearing, Anna quietly noted how badass she must've looked just then. As thick smoke began to engulf the clearing, Anna saw the large helicopter start to circle. She waved her uninjured arm over her head in an attempt to catch their attention.

That's when she saw the door gunner swing his weapon in her direction. She froze, unsure of whether he was going to shoot or not. To her relief, the large helicopter slowly began to descend into the clearing, lightly touching down about thirty yards away. The large propellers quickly dispersed the smoke and blew wind directly into Anna's eyes, forcing her to squint and hold up her hand in front of her face.

Seconds after the wheels touched the grass, to men holding weapons jumped from the open door of the helicopter and ran toward Anna. She held out Elsa's pistol as they arrived. One took the handgun while the other leaned close to her ear to be heard over the roar of the helicopter.

"Where's the assault team?!" he yelled.

"They're all dead!" Anna yelled back into his ear. "Well, all but one I know are dead. One might still be alive!" The two soldiers escorted Anna back to the waiting helicopter and helped her inside. Once the helicopter lifted into the air, one of the soldiers, who had a Red Cross patch velcroed to his arm, began to bandage her right arm. The other placed headphones over her ears and began to speak over the radio.

"What happened?" he asked.

"To be honest, sir, I have no idea. The team rescued me and then we got ambushed by a ton of guys. One by one, the team got picked off," Anna quickly summarized, tears starting to well in her eyes. "One might still be alive though. We have to find her. She drew off the bad guys so they wouldn't find me." The soldier let out a heavy sigh.

"Damn it," he mumbled, "I'm sorry, but we can't go back." Anna felt an inexplicable rage build inside of her. They couldn't go back? What if Elsa was in trouble? She needed help! These soldiers with their helicopter and big guns would definitely be able to help her. These thoughts flashed through her head in seconds. She noticed that Elsa's handgun was just lying on the floor of the helicopter and was in arm's length. Without thinking, Anna grabbed the gun and pushed herself to the corner of the small cabin, pointing the gun at the soldier.

"Turn this thing around now! We have to help her!" she yelled before she really understood what she was doing. The pilots began to ask what the hell was going on in the back while one of the door gunners pulled his sidearm. The soldier Anna was threatening held his arms up, hoping to calm the obviously stressed girl.

"Ok, ok… Let's slow this thing down a bit, ok?" he said slowly. "We never intended to just leave the operator behind. All I'm saying is that _we_ can't go back. Our job is to take you back to the ship. That's the mission," he paused as listened to something coming his radio but not Anna's. "Ok, they're launching a UAV, a drone, I guess you could call it, to look for her. No promises that it finds anything, though." He held out his hand to Anna.

"Ok, now just hand me that gun and we can chalk this whole thing up to lack of sleep and stress." Anna slowly nodded and handed it to the soldier as her breathing began to slow. The medic returned to administering first aid to her arm.

Anna sat in silence for the remainder of the flight. She stared out the window as watched as the forest below gave way to open ocean. After a time of flying over the water, Anna felt the helicopter decelerate as it neared the Navy ship. As the helicopter touched down on the helicopter pad at the stern of the ship, the two soldiers opened the sliding door and helped her toward a group of waiting sailors. The engines began to wind down. As Anna approached the waiting group, one man who looked important stepped forward.

"Hello, I'm Commander Turner, captain of the _U.S.S. Michael Murphy_. Welcome aboard, Ms. Arendelle." Anna shook left-handed. She was led below deck and taken to the infirmary. The medic there pulled the rest of the shrapnel from her arm, wrapped it up, and gave her a sling to wear to keep her arm still as it healed. Anna was next lead to the bridge, where the commander was watching grainy, black-and-white video from the drone they had launched.

"Found anything?" she asked quietly. The commander shook his head.

"It's a big island, Ms. Arendelle." Was his only reply. Anna stood and watched the video feed for the next several minutes, her eyes staining to see anything, hoping for any sign of life. Suddenly, she saw a flash in the upper corner of the screen.

"What was that?" she asked. Pointing to the location on the screen. The commander leaned in close and ordered the drone pilot to zoom in. A second flash. Anna saw the figure standing in the middle of the river at the same time as everyone else watching. She also the figure forcefully pushed under the water as she was overrun by the enemy.

"Ok, that looks like her," the commander called of the ship's radio system. "Launch the strike team. We'll send them coordinates once they're in position." Anna stood by the screen despite repeated requests by the medic that she rest. That girl on the screen risked her life for Anna, she needed to know her fate. She watched as Elsa was nearly executed. She watched with relief as Elsa was rescued.

Anna went back to the infirmary and laid down in a vain attempt to sleep. She was tired, sure, but her mind was just too abuzz with activity. Minutes passed. Suddenly she heard loud activity coming down the hallway outside the door. Seconds later, a group of people carrying a stretcher entered the door. The medics were in a flurry of activity. They immediately set up what appeared to an IV drip and a blood transfusion. As the stretcher bearers left the room, Anna got the first glimpse of her new roommate. Elsa was now asleep on examination table as three medics tried to get her into a stable condition. Anna could do nothing but watch. The examination table was quickly covered in blood flowing from Elsa's head and right knee.

Suddenly, the heart rate monitor flat-lined. Elsa had lost too much blood. The doctors pulled out the defibrillator and, after four different tries, Elsa's heart faintly leapt back to life. The doctors continued to bandage the girl's wounds and pump more blood into her body until she was deemed stable. They removed the bindings that Elsa had placed over wounds herself and replaced them with fresh ones. After no less than thirty minutes of medical care, the medics left Elsa to heal in peace.

Anna stood up from her bed and walked over to the fallen soldier. Elsa's expression was peaceful in her sleep. Elsa was still in her bloodstained camouflage. Anna noticed the small velcro American flag patch that Elsa wore on her right shoulder. Anna quietly removed the patch and stuck it in her pocket. Though she figured the two would never meet again, she had a memento to remember her hero by.

* * *

**Authors Note:** Ok, I have more time to write now, but it probably won't be one chapter per day as it was before, but I still have plans for the rest of the story. It's far from over. Please review this newest chapter in the mean time!


	14. Day is Done

**ONE WEEK LATER**

Of course it would be starting to rain. Elsa sat still in her wheelchair as she and a small group of fellow SEALs watched the funeral procession move forward. A bugle solemnly bellowed out "Taps" as the flag-draped casket was set next to the newly dug hole in the ground.

This had been Elsa's routine for the past three days. The bodies of her fallen comrades had all been recovered from the battlefield, and now the funerals had begun. Petty Officer First Class Olaf "Snowman" Kross was the first to be laid to rest. Elsa had formed a unique bond with the man. Both were talented snipers and talented SEALs. Olaf had gone out of his way to mentor the fresh and inexperienced Elsa when she was first assigned to the team. The only family at his funeral was his younger brother, Marshall. Marshall had practically idolized his older brother, especially after their parents had died in a car accident one year prior. The attendance of his funeral, however, was far from sparse. Olaf was a friend to all and many of those friends came to pay their respects.

Chief Petty Officer Hans Fontana was buried the next day. Elsa was almost overwhelmed by the size of his family. Hans had been the youngest of _thirteen_ brothers. His family represented every branch of the military. Two brothers were in the Army, two more were Marines. One was an Air Force pilot while another flew helicopters for the Coast Guard, apparently it was almost expected that Hans would enlist in the Navy.

The following day saw Elsa at the funeral of Petty Officer Second Class Kristoff Bjorgman. Kristoff was the other Norwegian on the team, and for that reason Elsa felt a national connection with the man. Her heart broke at the sight of Kristoff's adoptive parents mourning over the loss of their boy.

Now Elsa was at the funeral for the leader of her team, Navy Lieutenant Eugene "Flynn" Fitzherbert. The sky was overcast and cloudy. Rain started to sprinkle down from the sky as the honor guard readied their rifles for a twenty-one gun salute to the fallen hero. As the guns echoed across the cemetery, Elsa almost locked eyes with Mrs. Fitzherbert, dressed in all black. The short-haired brunet stood on the far side of the casket as she was presented with the folded American flag. Elsa noticed the gold ring that hung around her neck. A sense of relief spread through Elsa's body when she knew that the wedding ring had been returned to its rightful owner.

Elsa kept her eyes locked forward in respect as one of the other SEALs in attendance removed the SEAL trident from her uniform. The small gold pin depicting and eagle clutching a trident and pistol was worn on all formal SEAL uniforms, such as the dress blues Elsa was wearing that day. It's tradition for SEALs at the funeral for a fallen SEAL to imbed their trident pins into the lid of the casket before it is lowered into the ground.

Elsa would have done that herself, except for the fact she couldn't walk just yet. The wounds she received on Weselton Island, especially the wound to her right knee caused by the Duke's pistol meant that her right leg and arm needed to remain motionless. While the other SEALs stepped forward to imbed their tridents into the wood and salute the casket, Elsa could do nothing but sit still in her wheelchair and yield a left-handed salute.

Out of the corner of her eye, Elsa noticed something that almost made her blood boil; News reporters and cameras. They were far enough away that they weren't interrupting the ceremony, but their mere presence angered Elsa.

Ever since the first reports of the rescue mission hit the news networks it seemed Elsa couldn't turn on the TV without seeing something about the mission or SEALs in general. The news networks constantly analyzed her squad's tactics and movements, with SEAL "experts" providing their "expert" commentary. One thing nearly every report had in common was that they were completely wrong.

The squad was not ambushed by a hundred highly-trained fighters. Elsa was the one who fired the first shot during the firefight and there could not have been more than fifty enemy fighters who just happened to be carrying weapons. Had the opposing force been highly trained, Elsa's squad would never had lasted as long as they did.

That was just one of the seemingly endless parade of idiotic claims the media played off as fact. The survivor didn't fight off ten guys with nothing but a knife, Elsa only managed to cut one guy before she was overrun. The commander didn't freeze during combat, Flynn continued to fight and lead until he was hit.

Elsa, luckily, was able to stay out of the media spotlight. News organizations had known that one member of the team survived, but didn't know it was a woman. After the string of funerals and photographs of an injured female SEAL surfaced, speculation spiraled out of control. The Navy did their best to keep her identity a secret, requesting that she forgo wearing the nameplate on her uniform that gave away her last name. Elsa quickly obliged, not wanting to draw unwanted attention to herself.

Outside of the Navy, only Elsa's parents knew the ordeal that their daughter had been through. They hadn't been totally supportive of Elsa's decision to join the SEALs, but they were determined to stay by her side while she recovered. Elsa's wounds required that she take an indefinite leave of absence from the military as they healed, especially the shattered kneecap and wounded shoulder.

As Elsa was slowly wheeled away from Flynn's grave by another SEAL to her parents waiting in the van, Elsa was stopped by man in a Lieutenant Commander's uniform. Elsa and the SEAL behind her both rendered salutes which the man returned.

"Petty Officer Second Class Elsa Winters?" he asked. Elsa still wasn't used to hearing the "Second Class" in her rank, she had just been promoted two days prior.

"Yes, sir," she replied humbly.

"I understand that this might not be the best time to hear this news, but I figured that you should hear it as soon as possible." Elsa's mind began to race with hundreds of possibilities that might escape the Lieutenant Commander's mouth.

"After reviewing your description of the battle and Ms. Arendelle's sworn statement on your actions, I would like to inform you that you have been officially nominated for the Congressional Medal of Honor."

* * *

**Author's Note:** Ok, so this turned out to be a kind of depressing chapter, but I guess it works out because it's a depressing chapter in Elsa's life. Don't worry, It will lighten up a bit later on and there will be more interaction between Elsa and Anna. Anyway, please share your thoughts on this chapter!


	15. Let It Go

**TWO MONTHS LATER**

Elsa bolted straight up in bed. Her chest heaved as her lungs screamed for all the oxygen they could find. She ran her hand through her hair in a vain attempt to understand where she was. Her other hand rubbed the back of her neck, rubbing away the sensation of a cold steel blade resting against her neck. As her senses began to return, Elsa glanced around her environment.

She wasn't in the forest, she was in her room at her parent's house. No one was shooting. There were no explosions. There was only the gentle whirring of the ceiling fan. A chill traveled up Elsa's spine as she tried to wipe the cold sweat from her face.

Elsa slid her legs out from under the covers and dangled them off the edge of the bed as her breathing began to return to normal. The nightmares had started a little over a month ago, but they had gradually become worse. That night's dream had been the worst so far. She felt like she was reliving the event, every second of the event, every night. She looked at the red glowing numbers on the digital clock next to her bed.

_3:46 AM._

With a light grunt, she pushed herself to her feet. The physical training she had been attending meant that she could finally walk unassisted, but still required a knee brace and still had a very noticeable limp. Elsa stood still in the center of her room for several moments, still trying to collect her thoughts. She rubbed the sleep from eyes as she walked into the hall and down toward the kitchen. Elsa knew the chances of her actually falling back asleep were practically zero, so she decided to get something to drink from the fridge. Elsa opened the refrigerator, the interior light casting a dim glow over the dark kitchen. Elsa shuffled through the items on the shelves before finally settling on the carton of orange juice.

As Elsa stood from the fridge as her eyes locked on figure standing in the doorway of the kitchen. Elsa let out a small scream as she instinctively jumped backward. The carton fell from her grasp and exploded on the floor.

"Oh, shit," Elsa breathed as she attempted to control her heart rate. Her eyes moved back to the figure in the doorway. "Mom, don't scare me like that!" Gerda moved into the kitchen before grabbing some paper towels from the cabinet and starting to clean up the spilled orange juice.

"I'm sorry, honey," Gerda replied, "I didn't mean to scare you."

"It's fine, Mom," Elsa whispered back. "Just warn me that you're in the room." Her eyebrows furrowed into a worried expression. "Mom, why are you out here anyway?" Gerda's expression also shifted to a worried one.

"I just wanted to check one you, Els. See how you're doing," she said as she briefly stopped mopping up the spilled juice.

"I'm fine, Mom." Elsa lied through her teeth and she knew it too.

"Elsa," Gerda's voice became very serious, "you've never been able to lie to me. Kai and I both heard you screaming in your sleep." Elsa hadn't realized that she screamed out loud during her nightmares.

"Oh, crap, I'm sorry, Mom." Elsa felt guilty for dragging her parents into her problems. "I should probably get my own place or something," Elsa tried in vain to change the subject.

"While that might not be a bad idea, Elsa," Gerda began, "it doesn't change the fact that you saw things on that island. And those things are effecting your life now. Now, I'm not forcing you to do anything, Elsa, but it might be good to go to a psychiatrist." Elsa had to fight down the feelings of anger at her mother's suggestion.

"With all due respect, Mom," Elsa bit her lower lip as she began, "I don't need help. I can get through this on my own. I'm a Navy SEAL for Christ's sake!" Her voice began to rise as tears began to form in her eyes.

"Elsa, calm down. I'm not doubting your strength. You're the strongest, mentally and physically, person I know and I couldn't be more proud of you, but you need to talk to someone about what you're going through. We aren't meant to go through life alone, Elsa." Gerda paused momentarily. "Ya know what, talk to me. Tell me everything that going on." Elsa couldn't hold it back anymore. Tears started to flow freely as she fell into her mother's arms.

"Everything I see reminds me of that island," she managed through sobs. "Every time I see a tree my mind automatically assumes there's someone behind it wanting to kill me. Any loud noise sets off a panic attack." The tears came heavier now. "I'm not ok, Mom. I'm not alright," she finally admitted to herself. Gerda slowly patted Elsa's head.

"Let it go, let it go… Can't hold it back anymore… Let it go, let it go… Turn away and slam the door…" Gerda slowly began to sing. Elsa's sobs continued to echo through the house.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Elsa woke with a stiff neck the next morning. She was on the couch, still in her mother's arms. Elsa had relayed every detail of the event she could remember, which was practically all of them. The pair had talked until Elsa had apparently fallen back asleep. Elsa stood with a stretch as she walked back to the kitchen. The floor was still covered in orange juice, which had now become sticky. Before she started to clean the floor, Elsa walked back down the hall to her room. Kai must've already left for work.

The clock on her nightstand read 1:32 PM as Elsa began to get ready for the day. She had just come back from a shower when the cell phone on the nightstand buzzed to life with a call. Elsa picked it up.

"Hello, is this Petty Officer Second Class Elsa I. Winters?" a female voice asked from the other side.

"Yes," Elsa answered slowly.

"Were you engaged in combat operations on the Isle of Weselton on November the 27th of last year?"

"Yes," Elsa repeated.

"Would you be available to take a call from the President of the United States at this time?" Elsa's jaw dropped.

"Y-Yes," she stammered. After a couple seconds of a holding tone, some picked up on the other end.

"Is this Elsa Winters?" a familiar voice called.

"Yes." Elsa mentally chastised herself for only being able to answer with one word the entire phone conversation so far.

"Hello, Elsa. This is Barack Obama and I would like to congratulate you. Congress had approved your nomination for the Medal of Honor."

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**Author's Note: **Please share your thoughts on the story so far by reviewing! I love hearing you opinions!


	16. Honor

**Author's Note:** Ok, just so everyone's clear on what the Medal of Honor is, it's the highest award a member of the United States Military can earn for valor "above and beyond the call of duty." It is issued by Congress and awarded by the President himself at a special ceremony at the White House.

* * *

**TWO DAYS LATER**

Elsa was at the White House. She almost felt the need to pinch herself to make sure this was really happening. In just a few minutes, she would led by the President of the United States out into a room filled with reporters, cameras, family, and other members of the military.

She was dressed in full Navy Dress Blues, the double red stripes on her sleeves signifying her Second Class rank stood out in sharp contrast to the near black of her suit coat. Every inch of her uniform was meticulously pressed and ironed. Despite being relatively new to the military, Elsa already had a growing collection of service ribbons, small rectangular plaques representing medals earned, mounted to the left of center on her jacket.

Her gold SEAL trident topped the field of ribbons and a golden parachute was pinned underneath. Ribbons for her Purple Heart, a medal for being wounded by the enemy, and her Combat Action Medal formed the first row while her Expert Rifle and Pistol Marksmanship Medals rounded out her assemblage. They would soon be joined by the light blue plaque with white stars for her Medal of Honor.

The doors to the conference room swung open as "Hail to the Chief" began to play. Elsa walked in several feet behind the President as the flashes and clicks of hundreds of cameras nearly blinded her. She kept her eyes fixed to the front until she moved into her position next to the podium that the President stood behind.

He began to talk, recounting everything that happened during the mission and praising her heroism. Elsa was grateful for the fact that she didn't have to say a word the entire ceremony. She knew that if she started to talk about the men she served with, she would most likely break down and cry before she finished a sentence. As the President spoke, Elsa looked over the crowd gathered before them. She recognized the families of the fallen SEALs, as well as her own parents. Her eyes then settled on a man standing next to them; a taller man in a sharp business coat. He had dark red hair and a matching mustache. He had a look of pride akin to the smile her own parents wore.

_Where do I know him from?_

Elsa struggled to remember where she had seen that man before. He wasn't a reporter and he wasn't one of the other soldier's family members. Then her eyes shifted to the figure standing to his right. Anna probably wore the biggest smile of anyone in the room. Elsa instinctively broke eye contact the second it formed. All she wanted to do was forget the events on that island, and all Anna reminded her of was that island.

By that time, the President had finished his speech and it was time to officially award the medal. Elsa snapped to attention as the official citation was read aloud.

"_For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of her life and above and beyond the call of duty as a sniper in a special reconnaissance element with Naval Special Warfare task unit Southern Isles on 27 November 2013._

_While participating in a mission to locate and recover an American hostage, Petty Officer Third Class Winters demonstrated extraordinary heroism in the face of grave danger. On 27 November 2013, operating in an extremely rugged enemy-controlled area, Petty Officer Winters' team was discovered by militia scouts, who revealed their position to opposition fighters. As a result, between 40 and 50 enemy fighters besieged her five member team. Demonstrating exceptional resolve, Petty Officer Winters valiantly engaged the large enemy force. The ensuing fierce firefight resulted in numerous enemy casualties, as well as the wounding of all five members of the team. Ignoring her own wounds and demonstrating exceptional composure, Petty Officer Winters continued to defend the hostage against small arms and rocket attack. When the rest of her team fell, Petty Officer Winters hid the hostage at the predetermined extraction zone and intentionally engaged enemy forces to draw them away from the landing zone while the hostage was extracted. This deliberate, heroic act deprived her of cover, exposing her to direct enemy fire. She continued to engage enemy forces with her weapon and hand grenades until her position was overrun. In the face of execution, Petty Officer Winters continued to bravely defy her captors until a Quick Reaction Force from the U.S.S. Michael Murphy reached her location._

_By her selfless devotion to duty, Petty Officer Winters reflected great credit upon herself and upheld the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service."_

Once the citation was read, Elsa turned away from the President as he draped the golden star medal around her neck and clasped it in the back. The sound of cameras snapping photographs rose to an almost deafening level. She turned back around and shook the President's hand before a round of applause broke out through the crowd. Elsa faintly smiled and waved back to them.

After the closing prayer, Elsa shuffled through the crowd toward her parents as reporters shoved microphones in her face to get any sound bite from her. She finally made it to her parents and gave them both a hug while the feeling of claustrophobia set in.

"I'm gonna go into the hall for a sec, Mom," she whispered before leaving the room. She stepped into the mostly empty hallway. She heaved out a sigh and looked at the medal around her neck. Now this piece of metal would remind her of that island. That's all she needed right now. Stress began to build up in her system.

"Hi." Elsa's eyes shot up with a start. Anna was standing timidly in front of her.

"Uh, hi… How long have you been standing there?" Elsa asked, already worried what the answer might be.

"Uh, just a couple of seconds," Anna replied. Elsa could tell the girl was lying. "Um, I, uh…" Anna began to stammer. Elsa held up her finger to silence her. With every second she looked at the redheaded girl in front of her, more memories of that island flooded into her brain. Elsa was on the verge of breaking down, in a hallway in the White House of all places.

"I'm sorry," Elsa weakly managed as she brushed past Anna on her way back to room full of reporters. She would rather face the multitude of invasive reporters over an eighteen year old girl. Elsa closed her eyes and tried to block out Anna calling her name behind her. So there, in the White House, minutes after being awarded the nation's highest award for valor, Elsa ran away.


	17. Heroes

"Elsa," Anna called one more time in vain. Her arms dropped to her side in defeat as Elsa's form disappeared into the throng of people. "Thank you," she weakly whispered, knowing that Elsa would never hear her now.

_What the hell was that all about?_

Anna walked back into the conference room to find her father. She craned her neck as she looked through the crowd, straining for a glimpse of her father's red hair or even maybe a glimpse of Elsa. Maybe she could get a second chance to talk to her. Maybe she could just get the words "thank you" out. She caught glimpses of Elsa's blonde hair, but still had the nagging feeling the older girl was purposefully avoiding contact. She eventually found her father in the crowd and, after mulling around for several minutes, the pair decided to leave and go home.

As the got in the car and drove back out through White House security, Anna remained completely silent, staring out the passenger side window. Her father noticed her unusual lack of vocabulary.

"Well, did you get to talk to her?" he asked hopefully. Anna sighed.

"Yes and no," she replied quickly. Her father gave her a questioning look. "I found her and was able to say 'hello'," Anna clarified, "but it's like she wanted to, just, shut me out. She said 'I'm sorry' and walked away." She turned to her father. "I didn't even get to say 'thank you'. Two simple words and I fucked them up." Her father shot her a stern glance.

"Language, Anna," he warned. Anna dropped her head.

"Whoops. Sorry, Dad," she quickly apologized. Anna usually never swore much, but she and, to an even greater extent, her father, had notice that her vocabulary had gotten steadily worse since _it_ happened. Maybe it was just the fact that she was always irritable due to lack of sleep. Lack of sleep combined with the pressure of choosing a good college. Either way, the guilt riding on her conscience that she never said thank you to Elsa before she walked off into the forest would not let her mind be at ease.

"I mean," she continued, "I guess I said thank you to the whole team for rescuing me, but I never said thank you to her specifically." Tears started to form in her eyes. "She literally walked into the forest to die for me and I didn't even have the common courtesy to thank her for it. Today was my one chance to thank her in person and I screwed it up." Every word became harder and harder to say as tears began to fall. Her father slowed the car to a stop on the side of the road. He unbuckled his seatbelt before leaning over to Anna's side of the car and giving her a hug.

In the months since Anna's rescue, this had almost become routine. Anna visited a physiatrist shortly after the first few nightmares caused her to wake up screaming in the middle of the night. After several visits, she was officially diagnosed with chronic post-traumatic stress.

Luckily for Anna, her father always seemed to be right there to comfort her when her emotions went haywire. He always seemed to be present when she experienced flashbacks or nightmares and they would take out whatever Anna was feeling, but sometimes he didn't even have to say anything, just his hug was enough to remind Anna that she wasn't in danger anymore.

Once her crying lessened, Anna's father started the car again and the continued the long drive home. As the car rumbled down the road, Anna began to reflect on her brief interaction with Elsa. Anna looked up to Elsa, particularly the older girl's selflessness and courage that she had witnessed on that island. The Elsa she had encountered in that hallway, however, seemed to be a very different Elsa. Something in her eyes reminded Anna more of a scared little girl than a hardened warrior. Anna began to rethink the "hero" label she had thrown on the SEAL so quickly. Maybe Elsa was this selfless warrior on the battlefield but was a complete jerk in real life.

She decided to just leave the matter alone and closed her eyes to sleep.

_She is running. Where she's running to and what she's from she can't remember. Sometimes she's in a forest, like the one on the island, but other times she's in a desert or a snowy mountain, but the environment didn't matter. All that matters is that she needs to get away. She moves her legs faster, but she only seems to move slower. Whatever's chasing her is catching up. She can hear it; she can feel it._

_She trips._

_After the initial shock of hitting the ground passes, she tries to get back on her feet, but her legs no longer work. Her fingers claw at the ground in front of her as she tries to delay the inevitable. It's found her. Her movement becomes sluggish as she tries to escape. She can't quite make what it is, but whatever it is, it fill her with terror._

_Just as it seems all hope is lost, the terror starts to retreat. She looks on in confusion as it moves away until she sees her. Although still appearing bruised and bloodied, Elsa points her weapon at the terror. Elsa's yelling something, but she can't quite make out what it is. Whatever it is, it worked. She looks up at her rescuer. Elsa looks down at her. Normally, Elsa helps her feet and they walk together into the proverbial sunset. Now, Elsa's eyes look back at her with a combination of determination and fear. Elsa slowly raises the weapon at her and squeezes the trigger._

Anna's eyes shot open. Her head rested against the window of the car as it continued down the road. Based on the road sign they had just passed, they still had several hours to go before they got home. Anna sat up straight in the seat and looked over at her father. He was still paying attention to the road and driving, meaning the nightmare probably hadn't manifested itself physically. Anna let out a sigh as she closed her eyes again.

Maybe heroes weren't everything they were cracked up to be.

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**Author's Note: **Don't worry, they'll see each other again soon. Anyway, share your thoughts on this story! I love reading your reviews!


	18. Calls

**ONE WEEK LATER**

Elsa set the last box on the floor. She was far from done moving in, but at least everything was out of the van and in her new apartment. It wasn't big. The four-room apartment had everything Elsa needed to live comfortable. The front door opened into the modest living room which was separated from the kitchen by a waist-high counter. A small hallway branched off from the living room and led to the bedroom and bathroom. It wasn't much, but it was nice. It wasn't hard to find a nice place. The words "Medal of Honor" on her application certainly didn't hurt.

Elsa waved goodbye to her parents as they drove away. As their van disappeared around the corner, Elsa turned around to survey her new home. It was time to start unpacking. Her bed and a recently-acquired couch were already set up, but the rest of her belongings were all still packed away in boxes. Now that she saw all her belonging in one place, she almost found it funny how little she actually owned.

She had a bookshelf, but only enough books to fill up about a shelf-and-a-half. Elsa populated the other shelves with the display case for her medal and one picture of each of her teammates as a sort of personal memorial in honor of them. She owned a single nightstand, a small TV, and a few cooking utensils, though she was a terrible cook. Her small collection of personal firearms were kept in a safe she tucked away in the bedroom closet.

It took less than an hour for Elsa to get everything situated. After she was done, her knee began to feel sore, so she sat down on the couch and flipped the TV on. As per usual, nothing good was on at that moment, so she shut it off pulled her laptop computer onto her lap. She'd just been scrolling through some old emails when her cell phone began to buzz in her pocket.

_Please not again._

She pulled out her phone and looked at the number calling. She didn't recognize it, which was bad sign. Reluctantly, she accepted the call.

"Hello? Yes, this is Elsa Winters." She rubbed her temple as she spoke. This was becoming a bad habit. "No… No… No… Just, will you listen to me? I realize that I'm the top story right now, but this is the fifth time you've called me this week! If I wanted to give you an interview, I would have said yes the first fucking time you asked!" Elsa angrily ended the call and had to ignore the urge to throw her phone across the room.

"What a way to ruin a perfectly good day," she mumbled under her breath. Ever since she had been awarded the medal, she had been almost continually harassed by news organizations; CNN, Fox, NBC; all wanting to cash in on what was apparently the story of the millennium.

Elsa leaned back on a couch closed her eyes as she ran hand through her hair. She breathed slowly as she did her best to calm herself down. It was just a phone call. It was nothing she should get upset about. She needed to just let it go. Suddenly the phone jumped to life in her hand once again. Elsa groaned and put the phone back to her ear without checking what the number was.

"What did I _just_ say?" she sighed, waiting for the inevitable response.

"I'm sorry, mam, I think you have me confused with someone else," a female voice answered on the other end of the line. Elsa's eyes snapped open as she pushed herself into a sitting position.

"Yeah, sorry. Uh, who is this?" she asked cautiously, expecting it to be some other news channel.

"This is Karen from Arendelle Industries. May I speak with Elsa Winters?" the voice replied cheerfully.

"Speaking," Elsa answered, still wary to the intent of the call.

_Arendelle Industries? Could it…? No._

"Pleasure to talk to you, mam," the woman continued. "I am calling on behalf of Mr. Arendelle. He was wondering if you would be available to talk for a few right now or is there another time that works better for you."

"I got nothing better to do," Elsa mumbled.

"Ok, I'll put you through. One moment," the woman cheerfully responded before cheesy hold music began to play. Several seconds later, she heard someone pick up the other line.

"Hello, Ms. Winters!" an upbeat voice called from the other end. "This is Maurice Arendelle, CEO of Arendelle Industries and Anna's father. I have a proposition to make." Elsa's head was spinning. This was completely unexpected.

"What is it?" Elsa asked.

"Well, Arendelle Industries will be celebrating its thirtieth anniversary in two weeks. Of course, we have a company-wide dinner in celebration. What I was wondering is whether or not you would like to come as a guest of honor, considering what you've done for my family." A party invitation was even more unexpected.

_Say no, Elsa._

_Say no._

_You won't like it._

"Sure, why not," Elsa sighed.

_You don't listen well, do you?_

"Great! Karen will call you back and give you the when and where details. Thank you so much for accepting. See you there, Ms. Winters!" After Mr. Arendelle ended the call, the secretary called back and gave Elsa the details of the party. It would be a formal affair, so Elsa would actually have go buy something formal to wear. She had her formal military uniform, but she wanted to be known as something other than a SEAL, since that's what everyone else saw her as.

Elsa ended the call and tossed her phone on the couch next to her. She sighed and ran her hand through her hair. Why did she accept? Anna was going to be there, Elsa was sure of it. She didn't think that she could face the younger girl after their brief encounter at the medal ceremony.

_What did I get myself into?_

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**Author's Note: **Wow, this story has 100 followers. I can honestly say I didn't see that coming! A big thank you to everyone who's followed, favorited, and reviewed so far! The fact that people enjoy this story inspire me to keep writing it. Thanks!


	19. The Party

**Author's Note:** In response to brunhe's review of the last chapter: I'm not quite sure yet if there'll be a romantic Elsanna pairing, but there will be at least a friendship pairing. Anyway, let me know what you of thought of this chapter by reviewing!

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**TWO WEEKS LATER**

Elsa was uncomfortable. She didn't like dressing up. She felt more at home in dirty camouflage, combat vest, and face paint than in makeup and a dress. Yet her she was, sitting in the back of Mr. Arendelle's personal limousine. The limo was overkill, Elsa knew, but Mr. Arendelle had shot down every single one of Elsa's protests, insisting on nothing less than the best for his guest of honor.

Elsa's apartment was just a short drive from the naval base where her SEAL team was stationed. The Arendelle Industries headquarters, on the other hand, was about an hour drive away. And an awkward quiet hour it was. The limo driver had attempted to stir up small talk, but nothing really caught on. Elsa was never really any good at those types on conversations anyway. That reason alone made it all the more ironic that Elsa agreed to go to this party, which she expected to be mostly small talk. Plus, she'd likely have to face Anna again.

Elsa was a Navy SEAL. She was a warrior feared throughout the world, yet she was terrified of the opinion of an eighteen-year-old girl. The idea to back out of the invitation more than once in the past weeks, but Mr. Arendelle had been adamant that he would repay Elsa for what she did for Anna, and Elsa didn't have the heart to say no. Her mother had also recommended that going out and interacting with other people would be good for her.

The limo slowly pulled up to the building. Out of the tinted window Elsa could see a crowd of important-looking people. Mr. Arendelle was among them. At the sight of his limo approaching, Mr. Arendelle put on a huge smile and rushed over to open the door for her. He helped her out of the vehicle by her hand to a round of slight applause. As she stood from the limo, Elsa straightened the ice-blue dress she was wearing with her hands and pulled her braided hair over her shoulder.

_God, this was a mistake._

Her eyes darted from face to face in the crowd. She could already feel the anxiety start to rise. She didn't know anyone. She was out of her element. As Mr. Arendelle led her inside to the dinner, Elsa silently regretted the decision to forgo the knee brace on her right leg. The physical therapy had certainly helped, but today was first day Elsa had tried to go a full day without the brace. The wounded knee had just become sore.

Once inside, Mr. Arendelle led Elsa to the dining room, intermittently introducing her to some of his business partners. Elsa simply smiled and shook hands, barely saying a word. She would never see any of these people again anyway. The meet-and-greet carried on for several minutes. From across the room, Elsa's eyes suddenly locked on _her_.

Anna walked into the room from the far end and locked eyes with Elsa almost immediately. Her expression seemed to be a strange mix of surprise, anger, and a hint of disgust. Elsa wasn't expecting that reaction. Did she offend her that badly during their last meeting? It wasn't intentional.

The dinner started and was rather uneventful. The steak was probably the best steak Elsa had ever eaten and the vast assortment of side dishes were all equally as delicious. She was able, for the most part, to avoid conversation, but she couldn't avoid talking to the people she was seated beside, which included Anna's father.

"So you were born in Norway? Funny, I can't really hear an accent," he started. Elsa swallowed the bite she had just taken before answering.

"Well, my parents had wanted to immigrate to the US from before I was even born. It was just a matter of money, really," she explained. "So they had already learned English and spoke it in the house as I grew up. So English was really my first language; Norwegian was my second."

"You know Norwegian?" the man sitting on the other side of her asked.

"_Ja, det gjør jeg_ (Yes, I do)," Elsa responded with a smile. The conversation never went any deeper than that, and Elsa was getting more and more uncomfortable. Every new person she encountered just added to the level of stress she was under, and she hadn't even talked to Anna yet. She needed to de-stress if she was going survive the night.

"Excuse me, I need to use the restroom," she quickly lied as she stood from the table. She walked out of the large dining hall and made a bee-line for the restrooms. She only made it to the hallway connecting the two when a squeaking voice piped up behind her.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Anna's voice snarled. Elsa froze in her tracks, closed her eyes, and slowly turned around.

"What do you mean? Your father invited me," Elsa shakily explained. Anna let out an exasperated sigh.

"Why did he go behind my back on that?" Anna mumbled mostly to herself. "I said _specifically _that didn't want to see her."

"Whoa, why didn't you want to see me?" Elsa put her hands up to slow the girl down.

"Because you obviously don't want to see me." Elsa could hear the hurt in the redhead's voice. "And you obviously don't _want_ to be here. You look very uncomfortable."

"Well, excuse me for trying to get out and do something," Elsa defended.

"So you decided to do _this_?" Anna shot back. "Of all the things you could have possibly done?"

"Well, it was the first real opportunity I had," Elsa sighed. She decided to go on the offensive. "Now, would mind explaining why you're so pissed at me?"

"Because I looked up to you, Elsa!" Anna nearly yelled. "I looked up to and you shut me out!"

"That… That was a misunderstanding!" Elsa replied, unsure of how to explain her reaction.

Anna now was yelling. "Then enlighten me, Elsa. Why do you shut me out, huh? Why do shut the world out! What are you so afraid of!?"

"YOU!" Elsa yelled back before she realized what she was saying. An awkward silence followed the short outburst. Elsa's mind raced, trying to find the right words, but to no avail.

"Well," Anna said after a long pause. "This is awkward. Why are you afraid of me?"

"Well, uh…" Elsa stammered, "About that..." She sighed. "Every time I see you, Anna, I am reminded of the hell I went through on that island, ok? Walking away from you back there…," Elsa paused, hoping the words were right, "I swear, it was nothing personal. I was going through a really rough patch back then, and I just didn't want to deal with that just then. I understand it might have been a bit of an overreaction."

"Yeah, a _bit_," Anna snorted. "Just try to remember that you weren't the only person who went through hell on that island, Ms. Winters. I saw the exact same shit you did." Elsa opened her mouth to retort, but Anna's argument was sound.

"Ya know what?" Elsa asked, "Let's put that whole White House thing behind us. Can we just start over? Maybe there's a chance in hell that we could be friends." Anna mulled the idea over in her mind for several moments before she stretched out her hand.

"Ok, deal," she replied with a smile. Elsa took Anna's hand in her own and shook it. Before Elsa realized what was happening, Anna had pulled the older girl to the floor. Anna pushed Elsa into a sitting position before assuming the same stance next to her, leaning against the wall with her legs crossed in front of her.

"So, tell me about Norway."


	20. Getting Along

**Author's Note: **So, this is kinda a fluff chapter, but it seems like people really like the Anna-Elsa interaction, so this is your lucky day! Review and let me know what you think of it!

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Elsa was laughing. It was a sensation that was so foreign to her, especially in the past few months. Now, in some cold hallway of Arendelle Industries, somewhere between the dining hall and the restrooms, with some girl she barely knew, Elsa was laughing. By the next morning, she wouldn't remember exactly what it was that made her laugh so hard, but it didn't really matter. It was the first time she really felt friendship. Time slipped away from the pair as they talked in the hallway. As they talked about their childhoods, interests, and families. They talked so long that the dinner actually ended without them.

"So, hold on. If you were born in Norway, why is your last name Winters?" Anna asked. "It's a very English name."

"Well, my parents wanted us to be real Americans when we came here," Elsa explained, "My last name was originally _Vinter_ before we moved here, so we changed it to closest English last name."

"Huh, interesting," Anna replied, "Sadly I don't have any cool backstory like that. I'm a rich guy's daughter. We live very boring lives."

"I'm not sure that you have _any_ room to say that considering what you've been through," Elsa countered.

"You have a point," Anna admitted, "but beyond that, my only time my life wasn't boring was when my mom…" Anna suddenly caught herself and quickly shut her mouth. Elsa could tell that whatever Anna was about to say must've been a touchy subject, so Elsa decided not to press the matter.

"So, have you figured out where you're going to college?" Elsa said in order to switch the conversation to a completely different topic. She could clearly see the look of relief on Anna's face.

"Uh… No, no, not yet," she replied. Elsa swore she the younger girl wipe a tear away. "I mean, I've applied to several. Got accepted to a few already." Anna suddenly pointed her finger at Elsa. "Oh, get this. I actually wanted to join the Navy SEALs after what you did for me." She sighed. "Yeah, that dream died the second I looked at the _minimum_ requirements. How the hell did you do it?"

"I don't know. I just…" Elsa paused to think, "I just never gave up and pushed myself just a little farther each day."

"Yeah, I still think you're crazy though," Anna let out a small laugh. "Just wondering, is it true that you know how to kill someone with a paper clip in, like, twenty different ways?" Elsa couldn't help but laugh.

"No, no, no." she answered before smiling. "I only know ten different ways," she added jokingly with a laugh. Anna joined the laugh briefly before her face turned serious.

"Hey, can ask you a serious question?" She asked quietly. Elsa calmed her laugh and nodded. "Ok, I know this may be inappropriate, but do you get nightmares?" Elsa was quiet for several seconds before responding.

"I do," she answered quietly. "It's gotten better, but I still do get nightmares about that island." I've gone to a psychiatrist a few times. Apparently it's normal."

"Yeah," Anna sighed, "same here. It may be 'normal'," she held her fingers up in air quotes to emphasize her point, "but it doesn't make it any easier to deal with."

"Amen to that," Elsa agreed. "But don't worry, if you get a nightmare and there's no one else to talk to, you can call me." Anna looked at Elsa with a puzzled expression. "Don't worry," Elsa continued, "I'll most likely be awake too. Do you have your phone with you?" Anna nodded and pulled the cell phone from her purse. Elsa took it and started typing in her number. "My physiatrist mentioned that talking to people," Elsa said as she handed the phone back to Anna, "especially those who know what you're going through, can help. And I know _exactly _you've gone through. Don't hesitate to call," she added with a small smile. That smile grew a little bigger when Anna smiled back.

"Are you gonna go back?" the younger girl asked.

"You mean, back into the dining room?" Elsa asked in reply. "There's no real point now, everyone's done eating and I'm nothing but a fish out of water out there."

"You mean a seal out water," Anna shot back with a giggle. "Plus, there's probably some leftover chocolate from desert out there and that's _always_ worth going back for, but that's not what I meant. I meant are you going back to the SEALs?" Anna's expression was serious.

"I was planning on it once my leg's better," Elsa answered. "Anna, it's one thing in life I know that I'm good at."

"But what if you get hurt again?" Anna questioned, "What if you get hurt worse than last time."

"I'm a SEAL, Anna," Elsa replied, "It's an occupational hazard that I have to accept in order to help people. People like you." Anna sighed.

"I know, I know," she mumbled. "But damn it, Elsa, right now you're one of the only people I would call a friend outside of my family. I don't want you to get hurt."

"Thanks for the concern, Anna, but this is my life," Elsa responded. "And don't you think it's a little soon to be calling me a friend? I mean, we only got a speaking terms, like, and hour ago."

"I know," Anna said, "but like I said, I'm a rich guy's daughter. Very few people who have tried to be my friend actually cared about me. You, on the other hand, sacrificed yourself for me when you didn't even know me. I think that qualifies you for "friend" in my book. I just thought you were a jerk. This conversation has thankfully changed that opinion." Elsa smiled.

"There you two are!" Both Elsa and Anna jumped a little when Anna's father's voice echoed through the hallway. Anna pushed herself to her feet. "I thought that you got lost," he added.

"Oh, no, Dad," Anna said as she straightened her dress, "Not lost; just talking."

"Well," Mr. Arendelle continued with a smile, "seems like you're getting along."


	21. At the Range

**ONE WEEK LATER**

Elsa could say she honestly she had a friend. She could hardly believe it herself. In all her years at school and SEAL training, she never had someone who she could say was just a friend. Not a teammate; a friend. In the week following the celebratory dinner, Elsa and Anna spent nearly all their free time together. When Elsa wasn't at physical therapy or training to re-qualify, she was with Anna.

"Wow, when you said this place was in the middle of nowhere, you weren't kidding," Anna stated as Elsa drove them down an old dirt road.

"Well, most people don't want to live close to a shooting range," Elsa replied indifferently.

"I still don't see we couldn't just go to a movie or something," Anna said as she laid back in the passenger seat.

"Oh, no," Elsa laughed, "You made a deal. I lived up to my half of it. This is all on you now." Anna replied with a groan. Elsa could only chuckle. "We did what you wanted to yesterday. Today is my choice."

"But I chose something _fun_," Anna defended.

"I beg to differ, Anna," Elsa countered, "watching _Twilight_ does not count as 'fun' in my book."

"What?" Anna shot up in surprise. "Then why did you watch it?"

"Because I made a deal and I'm a woman of my word," Elsa countered.

"Ok, I agree that they aren't the best movies, but they're at least entertaining." Elsa smirked.

"It wasn't entertaining, it was creepy," Elsa answered.

"Creepy?" Anna asked, still surprised, "How so?"

"Isn't that Edward guy supposed to be over a hundred years old or something?" Elsa began to explain. "First of all, why a hundred-year-old dude would want to still be in high school raises some serious questions. Second of all…"

"Oh, shut up!" Anna interjected, "It's a love story! You need to learn to lighten up a little, Elsa." Anna acted as if she were upset.

"_Second of all_," Elsa continued, "No one thinks it's at all weird the hundred-year-old guy is dating a teenager. I'm telling you, it's really creepy."

"Fine," Anna settled, "You have your opinions; I have mine." As she spoke, Elsa pulled the car into the parking lot of the empty outdoor gun range. She opened the back seat door and retrieved her rifle.

"Today," she said as lead Anna to a shooting bench, "We're gonna do something that's a little more mentally stimulating."

"How is pulling the trigger on a gun mentally stimulating?" Elsa spun around and locked eyes with Anna.

"You obviously have never tried to hit a long-range target," she replied.

"I've never tried to hit _any_ target before, Elsa," Anna answered, "I've never shot a gun before."

"And we will change that today," Elsa stated as she unzipped the gun bag, "Plus, I need some more practice on this thing before I re-qualify." She deployed the bipod on her Remington 700 rifle and sat down on the bench behind it. She opened the bolt and verified that the weapon was empty. Anna sat down next to her.

"Ok, Anna, before we start, there are five rules you need to follow," Elsa began in a more serious tone. "First, always treat the gun as if it's loaded, _even_ _if_ you've checked it yourself," she added, gesturing toward the open bolt on the rifle. "Next, always keep the gun pointed in a safe direction. In this case, that's downrange. Third, keep your finger off the trigger until you are ready to shoot. Forth, know the target _and _what's behind it. This gun could put a bullet through a car and it would still travel a good distance on the other side. Fifth, _never_ point a weapon at something you aren't willing to destroy." Satisfied with her safety spiel, Elsa placed the earmuffs she had brought with her over her ears and grabbed a pair of binoculars from their pouch on the outside of the gun case. She handed them to Anna, who was also putting a pair of earmuffs on as well.

"Here, take these. You'll be my spotter," Elsa said. Anna took the binoculars from Elsa's grasp.

"Ok, so what do I do?" Anna asked as she looked at the device in her hand.

"See that tree at the other end of the range?" Elsa asked. Anna nodded. "Ok, I'm gonna be shooting for that knot in the trunk, can you see it?" Anna looked through the binoculars and nodded again. "All you have to do is tell me how close I am."

"Sounds easy enough," Anna replied as she rested her elbows on the shooting table as she continued to look through the binoculars. Elsa settled down into the all-too-comfortable shooting stance, looking down the scope.

The moment she was in position, Elsa instinctively slowed her breathing. All the old muscle memory and instinct flooded back into her body at the familiar touch of the rifle. She had used this range to practice before, so she knew that the tree was exactly 648 yards away from the shooting table. As she kept her eye on the scope, she grabbed a single .308 round from the box of ammunition she had brought with her and placed it in the weapon before closing the bolt.

She then started to line the knot in the tree with the crosshairs in her scope. The scope on her weapon had a high magnification, so she could clearly make out every detail of the target, even at that range. She could see every crack in the bark; every twitch of fear in his eyes.

Elsa froze, her finger resting against the trigger, waiting for the impulse to fire. But she no longer saw the tree. All she saw in her sight was the face of that sixteen-year-old kid staring back at her, neither willing to fire. Any moment he would start yelling, Elsa knew. He would start yelling to his friends to hunt Elsa down. She would have to shoot, she knew, but her finger wouldn't move. She couldn't do it again.

"Elsa. Hey Elsa." A nudge to her arm snapped Elsa from her trance. She looked over at a concerned Anna. "Hey, you alright? You've been staring down that scope for the last five minutes and haven't moved a muscle. Elsa quickly glanced back down the scope and just saw the tree trunk. There was no boy; he was a figment of her imagination. Elsa let the breath she didn't realize she was holding escape before she replied.

"We need to talk a bit before we start shooting."

* * *

**Author's Note:** Ok, so I've kinda hit writer's block. I know where I want the story to go (Elsa will return to the SEALs and participate in another mission) but I'm totally stuck on what should happen in the meantime. The last thing I want is for this story to get boring. So, if you have any ideas, you can leave them as a review or PM me. Maybe some help can shake this writer's block. Anyway, review and let me know what you thought of this chapter!

P.S. Whoo! 100 followers two chapters ago and now 100 reviews! Thanks to all!


	22. Self-Defense

**THREE DAYS LATER**

"So, when is you re-qualification trial tomorrow?" Anna asked as the pair left the restaurant and stepped onto the dark sidewalk. The had just finished a late dinner and were heading to Elsa's apartment to celebrate Elsa's last night as a civilian before she hopefully rejoined the ranks of Special Forces after the qualification tests the next day.

"They start at 7 A.M. sharp, so you can't stay too late tonight. I need to sleep," Elsa replied as they made their way down the street. The restaurant they had just eaten at was only several blocks from Elsa's apartment, so there was no need to drive. It was a nice night for a walk.

"Nervous about them at all?" Anna prodded. If Elsa was honest with herself, she would have to say that she was a little nervous. She wasn't nervous about her leg; it hadn't even been slightly sore for the past several days and her physical therapist had given her a clean bill of health, so her body wasn't the problem. It was her mind.

Ever since her flashback at the shooting range, Elsa had harbored an unrelenting fear that she would freeze in actual combat and get someone else killed. That would be something she could never live with. She had talked about it extensively with her physiatrist, who hypothesized that Elsa would be less likely to freeze up in a real combat situation, as opposed to a shooting range, when her mind is much more focused on the present rather than the past. Elsa prayed it was true.

"Not particularly," Elsa lied, hoping to convince herself as much as Anna. "I just hope that I remember everything."

"I'm sure you'll do fine, Elsa," Anna reassured. "Trust me, I've seen you at work," she added with a smile and a hug. Elsa returned the hug and the smile. Just before they started to move again, Elsa glanced at their reflection in a car parked on the side of the road. Only it wasn't just their reflection.

"Anna," Elsa said in a stern voice, "don't look behind you. I mean it." She grabbed the younger girl's arm and guided her down the sidewalk.

"Why? Elsa, what's wrong?" Anna asked a little too loudly for Elsa's comfort.

"Ssshh, not so loud, Anna," Elsa whispered. "Now, don't panic, but we might be being followed," she continued as they continued down the road at a slightly faster pace than before. They still had several blocks to go.

"What do you mean, 'followed'?" Anna whispered back.

"There are two guys right behind us," Elsa explained, "I recognize them from the restaurant."

"So? They could have finished right after us?" Anna reasoned.

"They could have, but they had _just_ gotten their food when we left," Elsa countered, "Who do you know who leaves immediately after getting served?" Anna couldn't argue with that point. "So, let's just keep moving." They picked up their pace again.

_Almost there._

Suddenly, a large figure stepped out of an alley directly in front of them. Elsa stopped short and grabbed Anna's sleeve to stop her too. The figure was a large man, taller than Elsa with a thick beard. He wore a dark, maroon jacket. Elsa spun Anna around with the intent to move in the opposite direction. The second she did though, she realized that the second man was only feet away. He was a smaller man with a clean-shaven face and the same maroon jacket. Their poses signaled a clear criminal intent.

"Stay away!" Elsa warned, backing Anna and herself into the road, the only route of escape left. The two men continued to advance. Elsa, running out of options, pulled her personal handgun from her purse and held it at her side. It was a small pistol, but at this range, she wouldn't miss.

"What, are you threatening me?" the larger man taunted.

"No," Elsa shot back, "if I was threatening you, I would be pointing this thing at your head. I'm just giving you fair warning that I have it."

"Oh, this is gonna be good," the second man added as he continued to approach. He suddenly lurched forward toward Anna as she fell down on the pavement. Now out of options, Elsa raised the handgun and fired a single round. She specifically aimed to wound, striking the man in the right shoulder. The bullet didn't have enough force to knock the man down, but it halted his attack instantly. Simultaneously, the bigger man lunged at Elsa. He was too close for Elsa to turn her gun on him before he reached her.

Instinct and training kicked in the second the man's hand grabbed her arm, taking the gun out of play. Her other hand moved forward to strike at the man's throat. Despite the fact that Elsa was highly trained, she was still at a size disadvantage. The fist into the man's throat hit hard, but it failed to loosen his grip on her gun. Elsa readied her knee for a strike to a more _sensitive_ area.

"Hey! Stop!" All heads turned as another voice spoke up. A younger man ran toward the fight, waving his arms above his head. The larger man jerked Elsa's arm away as he bolted. His friend joined him, clutching his shoulder. Elsa aimed her handgun toward the fleeing pair, but decided not to fire. The man running toward them paused to help Anna to her feet.

"Hey, you alright?" he asked with a concerned voice.

"Yeah, I'm… fine," Anna quickly responded. The pulled out his phone and called 911. He began describing what he had seen and asked for a police car.

"Tell them to check the hospitals," Elsa added, still checking the surrounding area just in case their attackers were stupid enough to try again.

"What, why?" the man asked.

"I nicked one in the shoulder," Elsa explained, holding up her handgun. "They'll probably go to a hospital."

"Good point," the man continued before passing that information on to the police dispatcher. As the trio waited for the police to arrive, Elsa turned to the stranger.

"So, what's your name?"

"Jack," the man replied, holding out his hand. "Jack Frost."

* * *

**Author's Note:** Ok, I'm gonna be on vacation for the next week and will not be able update this story until after that. Also it might be a bit in between updates due to my summer work schedule. Anyway, please let me know what you think of this chapter!


	23. Trials

"3… 2… 1… Execute!"

Elsa felt the concussive blast as the carefully placed breaching charge blew the door from its hinges. Before the smoke had a chance to clear, the four-man training team Elsa was assigned to rushed into building. Elsa's M4 rifle scanned the dark interior. It was just a matter of muscle memory to line the weapon up with the targets and squeeze the trigger. It took less than three seconds for Elsa and the three SEAL trainees to clear the small room of the six separate paper targets.

Elsa grabbed the "intel" they were sent to retrieve, though it was just an empty briefcase, and headed for the door. Two trainees walked out in front of her and one left right behind her, covering their escape. Outside, a group of trainers watched the trainees complete the exercise and took careful notes on their movements. They were mumbling amongst themselves, which was a bad sign. Someone had screwed up.

"You!" one of the instructors yelled, pointing to the last man out of the building. "Over here, now!" Elsa watched as the man's shoulders dropped as he ran over to the waiting instructors. With the drill over, Elsa removed her helmet and wiped the sweat from her brow as she walked off the shooting range. They weren't mad at her, which was a good sign. In fact, none of the instructors that had corrected anything she had done thus far, so she felt confident that she would pass. The muscle memory burned into her system by over a year of training hadn't left her yet. As she walked off the range, she walked past the instructors berating the trainee who had messed up.

"What the _hell_ were you thinking?" the trainer yelled at the man's face. "You didn't check the back corner! That is textbook shit soldier. You make that mistake in a combat situation and your whole team gets ambushed from behind as you're leaving the target. Now drop and do fifty!" The soldier did as instructed as the instructors walked away. Elsa simply stood and watched the man do push-ups in full combat gear. Once he finished all fifty, he sat still in the dirt and angrily threw his helmet to the ground next to him. Elsa walked up to him.

"What, you come to tell me what I fucked up too?" he shot up at her.

"No," Elsa replied calmly, "I just want to tell something that a friend once told me." The man eyed Elsa suspiciously. "One thing you need to remember is that perfection is rarely achievable. Even the best laid plans will fail at some point, so don't be hard on yourself." Elsa turned to walk away, maybe to grab something to drink, she wasn't sure.

"How does that help me?" the man asked. Elsa turned back around.

"What's your name?" she asked.

"Pascal. Petty Officer Third Class Nick Pascal," he replied.

"So, Pascal," Elsa began. "You screwed up today; there's no debating that. But think of it this way: you won't make that mistake ever again. You make those mistakes to learn from them. You can't become a SEAL without fucking up at some point."

"That's easy for you to say, you've won the Medal of Honor," Pascal shot back, "You're practically guaranteed a spot. This is a dream I've had for years. I don't want to fuck it up this close to the end."

"You won't," Elsa said in an effort to be reassuring, "as long as you don't that same mistake next time we run that drill. Learn from it. Also, don't mention the medal. I don't want to be treated any different because of it."

"Ok, recruits! Fall in! Five mile run! Full gear!" Elsa place the helmet back on her head and fastened the chinstrap before she helped Pascal to his feet.

_I'm not guaranteed a spot yet._

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**FOUR DAYS LATER**

"So, when do you find out if you got back in?" Anna asked as they waited in police station. The two men who had attacked them five days ago had apparently been caught when they tried to break into a pharmacy to get medical supplies for the man Elsa had shot. Elsa and Anna had been called in for identification.

"It could be tonight; it could be three weeks. I don't know," Elsa sighed. "Right now, though, I just want to get this over with."

"Amen to that, Els," Anna agreed.

"There you two are!" a voiced called down the hallway. Elsa and Anna glanced up to see Jack walking down the hall toward them.

"They called you down here too?" Elsa asked as she stood to greet him.

"Yeah, well, technically I'm a witness too, so here I am! How are you two doing after all that?" Jack replied with a smile.

"Trust me, we've been through worse," Anna answered. Jack responded with a skeptical expression.

"Really? Like what, a car wreck or something?" he asked. Elsa let out a laugh.

"You don't watch much news, do you?" Elsa asked in return.

"No, not really. I don't watch much TV, why?" Jack answered.

"Because then you would know that you're talking to a Navy SEAL," Anna said, gesturing to Elsa. Jack's mouth dropped open.

"No way. Really?" he said, eyeing Elsa's frame.

"Yeah, she won the Medal of Honor too! She won it for saving me, actually," Anna bragged. Elsa almost wished she hadn't brought up the medal. Jack's eyes only got wider.

"Oh, my God!" he breathed, "Really?"

"Yes, it's true," Elsa replied. "But I don't really like people bringing up the whole medal thing," she added, shooting Anna an accusing stare.

"Why not?" Jack asked. "That's something to be proud of!"

"Yeah, but I don't want to be defined by it," Elsa responded.

"I can respect that," Jack replied. Before either Elsa or Anna could speak, a police officer stepped out of his office and guided the trio into the lineup. From the far side of the double-sided mirror, Elsa looked over their attackers.

"Yep, that's them."

* * *

**Author's Note:** Ok, I was able to get more chapter out, but it'll be at least a week before any other chapter's come out. Please review.


	24. Guardian

Elsa's ears were ringing. That wasn't a bad sign; it meant she wasn't dead. She couldn't move her arms or legs, but she wasn't sure she wanted to either. As reality began to return, she realized that she was lying flat on her back on the cold steel floor. A quiet popping sound echoed down the corridor.

_Gunshots._

Before her eyes had a chance to open again, Elsa felt a hand grab the strap of her combat rig and pull her along the floor and into another room. Gunshots continued to echo up and down the hall and Elsa could start to hear voices over the ringing that still plagued her ears. Her eyes fluttered open and she started to look around her environment. Everything was illuminated in a bright green hue.

_Oh, good. The goggles didn't break._

The gunfire in the hallway started to subside as one of the figures around Elsa flipped her night vision goggles up and looked into her eyes. Elsa let a small groan escape her lips. The figure was saying something, but it was too dark to read his lips and her ears were still ringing too much to understand the words.

"Are you alright?" Elsa's hearing returned all at once as Sven's voice broke through the bells in her ears. Elsa sat up and looked over her body. There was a small cut on her right hand, but everything else seemed to be okay. Elsa nodded in reply.

"Whoa, you got a guardian angel looking over you, Ice," Pascal's voice piped up from his position in the doorway. Sven handed Elsa her Mk. 18 rifle as she dropped the goggles back over her eyes.

_I couldn't agree more._

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**THREE WEEKS EARILER**

"Really? He gave you his number last night?" Anna asked inquisitively as the pair sat in the park bench.

"Yep, just after your dad picked you up," Elsa answered as she stared at the phone in her hand.

"Well, are you gonna call him," Anna inquired excitedly. Elsa sighed.

"I don't know yet," she answered quietly, her figure hovering over Jack's contact info on her phone. Anna's smile faded slightly.

"Wait, what?" she asked, surprised. "Why wouldn't you call him? At least text him. He seems like a nice enough guy."

"While that may be true, Anna," Elsa responded. "The time I've spent talking to him hasn't even added up to five minutes yet. He could be a jerk for all I know."

"You can change that by _calling _him, Els," Anna playfully prodded as she pointed to phone in Elsa's hand. "You've stared down drug lords with guns, but you're too scared to call a guy." Anna made an exaggerated show of shaking her head in disappointment.

"This is different, Anna," Elsa replied.

"How?" Anna shot back.

"Anna, any day I could be sent back to the Navy. A week from now I might be sent to the other side of the world for who-knows-how-long. I don't think it would smart to try to be in a relationship with someone right now if I'm going to have to leave."

"Els, what about me?" Anna asked with a look of mock hurt on her face. "You have a relationship with me. You don't care about leaving me?" Elsa was about to answer when Anna's eyes lit up. "Wait! I never said _anything_ about starting a relationship with Jack. I just said you should call him." Elsa felt her cheeks blush as she locked on to Anna's train of thought. "You like him, don't you?" Anna asked as she raised an eyebrow.

"No…" Elsa answered shakily. Anna didn't buy it and her expression let Elsa know that without a doubt. "Ok, fine!" Elsa relented, "Yes, is that what you want me to say?"

"No, I want you to say what you're really feeling," Anna answered.

"Then to be honest, I don't know," Elsa replied.

"Then call him and find out," Anna nearly pleaded. "I doubt he would have given you his number if he didn't like you too. Please, Elsa, don't let this opportunity slip."

"Why do you care so much about my dating life anyway?" Elsa asked with a laugh, trying to lighten the mood.

"Because you're my friend, Elsa, and I want you to be happy," Anna responded.

"But I _am_ happy," Elsa reassured Anna. "I get to spend time with you."

"But like you said, you may be leaving soon. I might be going to a college that's on the other side of the country. I won't always be here for you to spend time with," Anna answered. Elsa had to admit that the younger girl had a point. She looked down again at the phone in her hand and sighed.

"I don't know if I could do that to him," she almost whispered. "Plus, what would happen if I don't come back? I barely made it back last time."

"I don't think you need to worry, Elsa," Anna answered. "From the looks of things, you have some kinda guardian angel protecting you. That's the only way I can explain how you survived the island. You are meant for something, Ms. Winters."

Suddenly, the phone in her hand jumped to life and started buzzing in her hand. Elsa was taken aback by it but answered nonetheless.

"Hello?... Yes, this is Elsa Winters… Yes, sir… I understand, sir… I'll be there, sir… Thank you, sir. Goodbye." Elsa pulled the phone away from her ear and sat silent for several seconds.

"Who was that?" Anna asked. "Elsa, what's going on?" Elsa turned and looked at her friend.

"I ship out in four days."

* * *

**Author's Note: **Ok, so I'm back after a little hiatus. However, due to my new job (whoo!) I can really only update on weekends from here on out, so only expect a new chapter about once a week. Anyway, please review this and let me know what you think of it!


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